FC Barcelona progressed to the quarter-final stage after cruising past Napoli in the Montjuïc Olympic Stadium on Tuesday night with goals from Fermin, Cancelo, and Lewandowski.

As it stands, the Blaugranes will be hoping to meet any of the other seven teams in an open draw that'll take place at 12:00 CET on Friday, March 15, 2024.

Who do Culers want in the quarterfinal?

After struggling for the past four years to reach the quarter-final again, Barcelona would literally want to pass through the least strong path to the semi-final and hopefully to the final in Wembley Stadium.

However, I don't think there's any easy link at this stage, and anyone who feels there is will only be retreating into a world of fantasy and self-delusion.

PSG, Bayern, Manchester City, Real Madrid, Arsenal, Borussia Dortmund, and Atlético Madrid! Where's the weakling?

There's absolutely no one. Not me or you believe Inter Milan will be eliminated by Atletico Madrid, despite Inter's unbeaten run and coming to the Metropolitano Stadium with a goal advantage. That's football, and that's where the beauty lies!

So instead of dreaming or wishing for a 'weaker link' that isn't anywhere, pray the medical team gets the boys fully fit before the said day. Pedri, De Jong, Ferran, and Alonso blended with the available players will definitely send shivers.

When is the UCL draw?

The draw will take place at 12 p.m. CET on Friday, March 15. We will find out which team Barca will meet in the next round. The first legs will be played on 9/10 April, while the return legs will be on 16/17 April.

Reasons to be optimistic

So far, the Barcelona squad has suffered too much due to injuries. Big thanks to the La Masia teenage sensations who have helped salvage us from what would've been one of the most distasteful seasons ever.

16-year-old Lamine Yamal has been impressive, solely winning the match against Mallorca with a superb goal and laying the bed for the second goal against Napoli when he raced through the midfield and rolled a glorious pass to Raphina.

Another is the 17-year-old Pau Cubarsi. How do you explain a boy so tender as Cubarsi clinching man of the match on the biggest stage of club football? That's insane! He's definitely the best of his peers, without mincing words.

There's also 20-year-old Fermin Lopez. He scored the opener against Napoli, which helped restore confidence and put the team at an advantage in just 15 minutes of the first half. 

Weighing these youngsters performances and confidence level, you can easily tell that they have the full support of the fans, their teammates, and the coach, and that was on display on Tuesday night. So don't fret; there's still more fabulous moments ahead with these gems!

Quickest two-goal advantage since the Bayern Munich quarter-final tie

The match against the Italian side puts Barca in the record book once more. Goals from Fermín López and Cancelo gave Xavi's side a 2-0 lead against Napoli after just 17 minutes.

The last time Barcelona did something this awesome was during Pep Guardiola's first season in 2008/09, in the quarter-final match against Bayern Munich.

One goal from Leo Messi and another from Thierry Henry put Barca at 2-0 after just 12 minutes of the first leg quarter-final tie at Camp Nou.

The Blaugranes interestingly won the match by 4-0 and progressed to sink Chelsea in the semi-final, then dummied Manchester United in the final to win the club's third UEFA Champions League trophy.

The shortest gap between goals 

Do you know that there were just two minutes and one second between the goals from Fermín (14m16s) and Cancelo (16m17s)? 

The only shorter gap came in the 2016/17 group stage against Celtic, when Andrés Iniesta (58 m 26s) and Leo Messi (59 m 42s) scored within 1 minute and 16 seconds of each other. 

Confidence going into the last eight 

FC Barcelona has qualified to the quarterfinals of the Champions League on 19 occasions. The first was in 1959/60, when they humiliated the English club Wolverhampton Wanderers 9-2 on aggregate.

Barca, since then, has cruised to the Champions League quart-finals on multiple occasions and even made history by being the only club in Europe to play 13 quarter-finals in a row from 2008 to 2020.

Things, however, started to spiral down after the 2018-19 season, when Ernesto Valverde's team sailed past Manchester United 4-1 on aggregate to play Liverpool in the semis. 

After three years, six months, and 27 days—to be more precise, 1,306 days—the blaugranes are here again in the quarterfinals. 

The scenario is different this time. The magic mountain Montjuïc will have to help the team progress in Europe's premier club competition. The dream is to reach the big final on 1 June 2024 at the familiar venue of Wembley.