Torres salvages 1-1 draw vs. Napoli in Europa League playoff

Barcelona, Feb 17, 2022 (AFP) - Ferran Torres slotted in a penalty to rescue a 1-1 draw for Barcelona at home against Napoli in the first leg of their Europa League playoff on Thursday.

Piotr Zielinski had opened the scoring for the Italians after 29 minutes in Spain but Torres levelled just before the hour from the spot after a Juan Jesus handball.

The draw leaves the tie open for both teams to advance to the last 16 of Europe's second-tier club competition, with the second leg next week in Italy.

"They got into our area once or twice and they scored a goal. We had a lot of chances," said Barcelona skipper Gerard Pique.

"The feeling is good, the result not so much. Everything remains open. It was a great match against a high-level opponent.

"The result is not satisfactory. We would have liked to have had a bigger advantage for the return match."

Barcelona are playing in the Europa League for the first time in 18 years after crashing out of the Champions League in the group stage.