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Lionel Messi, Antoine Griezmann, and Nelson Semedo will all need to be careful in Barcelona’s last-16 second leg against Napoli on Saturday at the Camp Nou.
The trio are all one yellow card away from missing the quarter-finals of the competition should Barcelona make it through to the last eight of Europe’s top tournament.
UEFA confirmed changes to their disciplinary plans this week, announcing all accumulative bookings will expire after the last-16 stage rather than the quarter-finals due to the latter stages of the tournament being changed to single-leg matches.
🟨 Yellow cards will not be carried forward from the @ChampionsLeague or @EuropaLeague Round of 16 stages in this season’s competitions.
The changes mean that if any of the trio are booked against Napoli they will receive a one-match ban, but if they all escape a yellow card their slate will be wiped clean for the final stages.
“Exceptionally, all yellow cards and pending yellow-card suspensions expire on completion of the play-offs. They are not carried forward to the group stage. In addition, all yellow cards expire on completion of the Round of 16. They are not carried forward to the quarter-finals.“
Barcelona go into the match against Napoli level at 1-1 after the first leg and will face Bayern Munich or Chelsea if they progress. Messi, Griezmann, and Semedo are all expected to start the match at the Camp Nou.
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Barcelona Already Hit By Suspension
Barcelona’s Champions League hopes have already been hit by suspension. Midfielders Sergio Busquets and Arturo Vidal are banned for the visit of Napoli on Saturday.
Busquets picked up his third yellow card of the competition in the first leg, while Arturo Vidal was sent off late on after picking up two quick bookings.
The duo’s absence will weaken Barcelona for their clash against Napoli, with Setien tipped to field a midfield of Frenkie de Jong, Ivan Rakitic, and Sergi Roberto against Gennaro Gattuso’s side.
Setien certainly will not want to lose any players should Barca make it through to the last eight, particularly captain Messi. The Argentina international remains critical to the club’s hopes of lifting the European Cup for a sixth time.
Messi finished the season top of the scoring and assists charts in La Liga and has a formidable record in the last-16 of the Champions League. He’s scored 26 goals in this round of the tournament, more than any other player.
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