Napoli draw with Barca in UEFA Champions League; Ronaldo scores as Al Nassr ease into Asian quarters

Napoli fought back to hold visitors Barcelona to a dour 1-1 draw in their Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) Champions League last-16 first leg on Wednesday as Victor Osimhen cancelled out Robert Lewandowski's opener.

Last year's Spanish and Italian champions, both struggling this season, played out a poor match in which both sides were toothless and lacking attacking flair.

Third in the LaLiga standings eight points behind leaders Real Madrid, Barcelona dominated the first half against a disorganized Napoli who barely managed to get out of their own half.

"It is not a good result for the return leg," Barca manager Xavi Hernandez told Movistar Plus.

"We were better in all aspects of the game, we had to control and we struggled, we weren't effective up front, it was a summary of our season."

Barca were playing their first Champions League knockout match for three years while Napoli were led by new coach Francesco Calzona with their Serie A title defense in tatters as they languish ninth in the domestic standings.

Napoli were frustrated by Barca's high pressing, missing simple passes and gifting the ball to the visitors who also looked short of ideas in possession.

Teenager Lamine Yamal, who became the youngest player to appear in the knockout phase of the Champions League at 16 years and 223 days, was also bidding to become the tournament's youngest scorer but he sent an early effort wide and had a strike from distance saved by goalkeeper Alex Meret.

Ilkay Gundogan twice shot wide for Barca before Poland striker Lewandowski broke the deadlock in the 60th minute.

He received a pass from Pedri just inside the box and made space to unleash a bullet strike into the bottom corner of the net.

That woke Napoli up and Nigerian Osimhen, playing his first game since the Africa Cup of Nations, equalized 15 minutes later with a fine swiveling strike from inside the box to leave the tie evenly poised ahead of the return leg in Spain on March 12.

"We have a lot of work to do, but I congratulated the team for rediscovering the desire to fight," Napoli coach Francesco Calzona told Amazon Prime Video Italia.

"We struggled at the start but I really liked the spirit of the side. The players gave their heart and soul to avoid defeat against a very strong opponent."

Alson on Wednesday, Porto snatched a shock last-gasp 1-0 victory over Arsenal as Wenderson Rodrigues do Nascimento Galeno, commonly known as Galeno, netted a sublime effort deep in stoppage time in their UEFA Champions League last-16 tie.

A drab clash was deadlocked until the fifth minute of added time when the Brazilian winger curled an unstoppable effort past David Raya to send the Estadio Do Dragao crowd wild.

Arsenal, who had scored 21 goals in their last five Premier League games, were strangely subdued in attack and failed to register an effort on target throughout a cagey contest.

They defended solidly enough but may live to regret their lack of urgency as Galeno gave Porto the edge ahead of the second leg in London on March 12.

Porto defender Pepe, who turns 41 next week and is the oldest outfield player in Champions League history, made his 119th appearance in the competition.

By comparison, Arsenal's starters had combined for a total of 104 before kick-off at the Estadio do Dragao in Porto.

In the Asian Football Confederation (AFC) Champions League match on Wednesday, Cristiano Ronaldo guided Al Nassr into the quarterfinals as the Saudi Arabian side defeated domestic rivals Al Fayha 2-0 to progress 3-0 on aggregate.

Nassr, who won last week's first leg 1-0 thanks to a Ronaldo goal nine minutes from time, were the better side at Al Awwal Park and took the lead on 17 minutes through Portuguese winger Otavio.

The former Porto star, who joined Nassr last summer, headed home from close range to score in his second successive game for the club.

His compatriot, Ronaldo, looked set to endure a frustrating night personally, with the Portugal captain having a number of penalty appeals turned down and, not long into the second half, a goal disallowed for offside.

Ronaldo, 39 earlier this month, was also booked in first-half stoppage time for a late challenge, with Nassr manager Luis Castro then given a yellow card for protesting the decision too vehemently.

However, the Nassr skipper would have the final say, when four minutes from time, he latched onto yet another Marcelo Brozovic through ball.

Fayha goalkeeper Vladimir Stojkovic really should have dealt with the situation but could only kick his attempted clearance off the onrushing Ronaldo. The ball fell invitingly for Ronaldo to tap into the empty net.

It marked the former Manchester United, Real Madrid and Juventus forward's 10th goal in his past nine matches for Nassr. Ronaldo, a five-time winner of the UEFA Champions League, is competing for the first time in its Asian equivalent.

(With input from agencies)