There were five minutes to go when Luuk de Jong was introduced at the Camp Nou and maybe it should have been more. Barcelona were drawing 1-1 with Napoli in their first game in this competition in 18 years, seeking the goal that would give them a deserved first-leg lead, and in a frantic finale the man who was greeted as a saviour, an unlikely hero, almost got it too. In the end, though, De Jong’s comic-book moment wasn’t enough, a spectacular overhead kick flashing past the post, and Barcelona ran out of time.
Ferran Torres equalised on the hour after Piotr Zielinski gave Napoli a first-half lead, but the former Manchester City forward above all reflected on the ones that got away. At the end of a night in which Barcelona and Napoli were playing for a place in a competition that they aspire to avoid, he pulled his shirt over his face, apparently crying. The last opportunity, like many of those that had come before, fell to him but the ball sailed into the stands.
