Barcelona obtained a favorable result in the first leg of the round of 16 of the Champions League after drawing 1-1 in their visit to Napoli but paid very expensive the score harvested in San Paolo. The Barca team left Italy with two suspended players and one injured and therefore the problems continue for Quique Setién, who increasingly has fewer resources to make his lineups and who will have serious issues to face the second leg against the Italian team.

Barcelona to have only 12 first team players for Napoli second leg clash.



Busquets and Vidal to miss the next Champions League match after being suspended meanwhile Pique left the pitch injured...



Yikes pic.twitter.com/Y5sSkqFsiY — MansionBet (@MansionBet) February 26, 2020

Busquets and Vidal suspended

Sergio Busquets arrived at the game against Napoli one card away from missing the next match, and although the midfielder was careful to avoid it, he ended up seeing the yellow card and will not be able to play the second leg at the Camp Nou. More serious is that of Arturo Vidal, who received two cards on the same play. The Chilean reached the final stretch of the game with high revolutions, perhaps spurred by the chants and boos that San Paolo dedicated him throughout the night for his past with Juventus. Thus, what should have been settled with a yellow card for an ugly foul on Mário Rui, became a red card, since after the tackle the former Bayern player faced his Portuguese rival and began to protest angrily to the referee. That cost him the second card and leaving his team with ten players ahead of time.

The two suspensions leave Barcelona in a delicate situation for the second leg. Quique Setién, who hopes to recover Jordi Alba and Sergi Roberto for that match, loses two players of great importance in his plans. The Catalan is a key figure in the lineups, while Vidal was earning his place as a starter. Barça’s midfield will suffer for that match and Setién must choose between Rakitic or De Jong to occupy the position of defensive midfielder.

???? Oh no! ???? Red card for @kingarturo23! Barça are down to 10 men for the remainder! pic.twitter.com/6N1ii7ZYea — FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) February 25, 2020

Pique injured to add to a short squad

The bad news does not come alone. The Catalans also lose Gerard Piqué. The central defender retired from the match injured in his ankle and his presence in the ‘Clasico’ against Real Madrid, next Sunday at the Santiago Bernabéu, is in the air. Seeing how he left the pitch it seems difficult that he will be able to play in the Spanish capital.

That being the case, Setién will probably have to use Umtiti and Lenglet for the duel against the white team if Piqué does not recover in time. They are the only central defenders from the first team available at the moment. This shows the problems that Barça suffers from their poor sports planning, something that the players themselves do not hide.

Busquets himself denounced the situation in the mixed area of ??San Paolo. "We don't have a wide squad because, unfortunately, the planning has been like this," he said. Rakitic also acknowledged that the group's troops are limited due to the planning: "This was already known by those responsible. The solution is what it is. The rest of us will have to join our forces because we have a very important game in the second leg". Thus, with several injured - we must not forget Suárez or Dembéle - and suspended players, Barça must become stronger than ever just when almost every game is essential for the final evolution of the campaign.