Thank you for joining us here tonight for our live Champions League coverage! I've been (and in fact still am) Nathan Jones and it's been a pleasure to have you. Stick with VAVEL UK for live coverage and in depth analysis of all the crucial Champions League fixtures this season. GOODNIGHT!
Malmö 3 (4) - (2) 0 Salzburg
Ludogorets 1 (1) - (1) 0 Steaua (The game will continue into extra time)
Arsenal 1 (1) - (0) 0 Beşiktaş
Leverkusen 4 (7) - (2) 0 København
FULL TIME SCORES ELSEWHERE!
FULL TIME! Athletic Bilbao 3-1 Napoli! Athletic are through to the group stages of the Champions League as two goals in quick succession relegate Napoli to the lower echelons of European competition. Athletic will be happy with the way their side have played tonight but Napoli will be furious as all 3 goals were easily avoidable! The home fans go home jubilant and the Napoli fans make the long trek home to Italy in the company of bitter disappointment.
There will be three minutes of added time.
89' The game seems to be winding down now as both teams are resigned to Athletic progressing.
85' Surprisingly of the two sides Athletic seem the most likely to get another as Napoli are pegged back by wave after wave of red. The away side seem completely out of ideas.
82' It's all Athletic now as both Napoli and their manager look shell shocked.
77' Benitez is furious and so he should be as his defence should know to play to the whistle, but take nothing from the Athletic strike force as the decision by Aduriz to convince the Napoli defence that he was the recipient of the ball, before leaving the ball to Gómez, was nothing short of sublime. Truly intelligent football there.
GOAL! 3-1! The ball is played through to Aduriz who is clearly several yards offside. The defence switch of completely and simply stop mid game believing that the referee will call it. But Aduriz gets within a foot of the ball before leaving it to the onrushing Gómez who simply has to beat Rafael one on one and the forward makes no mistake Has this effectively killed the tie?
71' That was awful defending and could be so costly for the Italian club as they now need a second goal to progress.
GOAL! And what a gift that is! A long ball is played upfield where Albiol completely fails to make any contact with it. Rafael then collides with the spinning defender while Aduriz bursts through and slides the ball into the empty net. 2-1 Bilbao.
67' All Athletic now as the Napoli defence are penalised for a bizarre incident of handball. The Italians believed the whistle had gone but the recostless had definetly not blown!
GOAL!!! And finally the crossing pays off! A pacey corner is fizzed in and Aduriz finds himself completely unmarked at the back post. The forward still has a lot to do though as he takes a sublime touch to bring the ball down and drag it onto his right foot before slotting it past a flailing Rafael. Game on.
SUB BILBAO: Ibai Gómez (in) - Beñat (out)
SUB NAPOLI: Britos (in) - Ghoulam (out)
55' The home crowd have regained their voice after that shock equaliser but can their team do the same?
54' Higuain nearly makes it two! The ex-Real Madrid man finds himself in acres of space behind the Bilbao back line but Iraizoz bursts of his line to deny him. That could have been the game.
STAT: Bilbao came behind to win from 5 losing positions in last years La Liga. Resiliant.
51' An almost immediate reply from the Spanish side and it's Balenziaga, who was at fault for the first goal, who nearly makes amends for his error. The Left Back strikes a wonderfully hit ball from 30 yards that is just about palmed away by Rafael.
GOAL! Napoli have one shot on target and they also have one goal. A perfectly timed run behind the defence by Gargano panics Balenziaga who heads the ball in a poor clearance. Hamsik finds himself the grateful recipient and fires low into the bottom right hand corner of the goal to give Napoli the lead against the run of play.
AND WE ARE BACK UNDERWAY IN SPAIN!
The players are making their way onto the pitch...
Malmö 2-0 Salzburg
Ludogorets 0-0 Steaua
Arsenal 1-0 Beşiktaş
Leverkusen 3-0 København
Athletic 0-0 Napoli
HALF TIME SCORES!
HALF TIME! Higuain gets a yellow card as the players make their way off the pitch for a late challenge. Athletic Bilbao will be the most happy of the two sides at the break as Napoli have not managed to muster a single chance this half. Will Napoli be pummeled into submission or will the home side rue their raft of missed opportunities? Stick here with Vavel to find out.
43' The wings seem to be the best outlet for the Spanish side here as Napoli seem completely unable to deal with any attacks in the wide areas. Athletic could be 3-0 already. Napoli will have to change something after the break or they could be facing the prospect of Europa League football.
39' Yet another cross finds the head of a Bilbao player. This time it's Aduriz who is unable to find the target. A pattern is devoloping here. Cross, header, miss, repeat.
34' Here at the San Mamés Napoli seem to be feeling their way back into the game after a few crucial misses from Athletic. Still no shots on target though. There doesn't seem to be any quality in the final third as of yet.
Elsewhere in the playoffs Leverkusen lead København 3-0 (6-2agg) and look destined to qualify. They will currently be joined by Malmo who lead Salzburg 2-0 (3-2 agg), the Austrian side will now need two goals to progress. The other match ups remain goalless including Arsenal's key clash with Beskitas.
26' CHANCE! Rafael flaps at a cross and Laporte finds himself completely costless in the Napoli box. The centre back fires straight over the bar with the goal gaping. That was a sitter. The home side undoubtedly on top here, but will these missed chances come back to haunt them?
23' CHANCE! Gurpegi is found completely unmarked in the box as the corner is whipped in. He rises to meet the ball but he can't hit the target. He really should have scored there!
22' Athletic Bilbao seem the more dominant of the two sides here as they win a corner after a period of sustained pressure.
18' Munian is brought down for the second time tonight and earns a costless kick 30 yards out. The costless kick is wasted by some lackluster passing. Expect a yellow card if these cynical challenges persist.
15' No real chances to speak of yet, as Hugain shoots wide f rom 25 yards out, both teams seem anxious to give the other a chance to hit them on the counter.
9' And now Bilbao are caught offside. Susaeta breaks through but is stopped excellently by Rafael who rushes out to meet him. It wouldn't have counted but it wa good reflexes by the Brazilian shot stopper.
7' Higuain finds space between the full back and the central defender but fires the ball into the side of the net. The offside flag was up anyway as the Argentinian striker went a little bit early. Early warning for Athletic.
3' Higuain concedes a foul out of frustration. Understandable as Napoli are struggling to get hold of the ball in the opening exchanges.
1' Athletic are not going to be shy here as they attack the Italians straight from the kick off. Napoli going to have to weather an early storm here..
Kick Off!
19:43. The players are on the field and we are almost underway...
19:36. No Michu on the bench for Napoli. The Swansea man won't get his first ever Champions League appearance tonight but instead will be hoping that it comes in September. That of course will be dependant on the result of tonight's game.
19:25. Athletic Bilbao are not without their own star quality however with 21 year old winger Iker Muniain attracting admiring gazes from some of Europe's most elite clubs. And this is why Athletic have recently handed him a bumper deal to tie him down:
19:22. Higuain could make all the difference here tonight and the ex-Real man is on of the star players on show tonight. You can check out some of his best moments here:
19:15. Half an hour to go until kick off and both sets of fans are in full voice, a large contingent of Napoli supporters have travelled to Spain for tonight's match.
19:07. Of course Napoli are not the only team in action today Wenger's Arsenal also take on Turkish side Beskitas at the Emirates and you can follow that LIVE on Vavel here!
19:02. A fairly attacking line up from Napoli, who of course need to score to have any chance of progressing, we are in for an interesting night of football here at San Mamés.
18:55. Hamsik remains in the team over new loanee Michu who, although there is no confirmation yet, is presumably on the bench.
Napoli: Rafael; Maggio, Albiol, Koulibaly, Ghoulam; Jorginho, Gargano; Mertens, Hamsik, Callejon; Higuain
Athletic: Iraizoz, De Marcos, Gurpegi, Laporte, Balenziaga, Iturraspe, Mikel Rico, Beñat, Susaeta, Aduriz, Muniain
18:50. The teams are in.. and Higuain starts!
18:40. Just over an hour to go until the kick off of one of the most intriguing ties of the play off rounds, stick here with Vavel UK for all the twists and turns.
18:30. No real injury news for either side with Gonzalo Higuaín being the only player in any doubt, though the Argentinean striker is expected to start.
18:20. Napoli (4-2-3-1): Cabral; Maggio, Albiol, Koulibaly, Britos; Jorginho, Gargano; Callejon, Hamsik, Insigne; Higuain.
18:20. Athletic Bilbao (4-2-3-1): Irazoiz; De Marcos, Gurpegi, Laporte, Balenziaga; Iturraspe, Mikel Rico; Susaeta, Benat, Muniain; Aduriz.
18:20. We will have the official team line ups shortly but here's how the teams could line up tonight.
18:15. Ex Chelsea manager, Rafael Benítez, understanding the threat that Athletic pose to their Champions League hopes was keen to play down the effect missing out would have on his club: "For Napoli, nothing changes whether we win or lose, Going out would not be a tragedy. This a work in progress and we are developing, we'll keep improving the club's structure for the future and for all other competitions. I know Athletic have been out of the Champions League for 16 years, they have little to lose because they feel they have succeeded already, but they also have a lot to lose as they are very close to qualifying. That can create nervousness and anxiety."
18:10. But he was also aware of the advantage last weeks leg gives his team: "today we're better than in the first leg against Napoli as we had a few players who were playing in the Champions League for the first time, so some will at least have that experience now. We are aware of Napoli's potential, we are aware of what they have up front."
18:07. Ernesto Valverde, the Athletic Head Coach, is well aware of the finality of tonights match telling UEFA.com that: "Tomorrow's match is a final because one of us will be eliminated,".
18:05. Here's the highlghts from last weeks game:
18:02. There’s not much history between these two sides with last week being the first time they have ever met in a competitive fixture. However history favours the Spanish side with them never losing to an Italian side on home soil despite playing seven games. Napoli’s record in Spain rather more suspect as they have won two and lost the same amount of matches on Spanish soil.
17:54. Napoli on the other hand will be rather disappointed with last weeks score draw and will be hoping that tonight will seem them continue their participation in the Champions League.
17:52. Athletic Bilbao have not qualified for the Champions League in over 15 years and would have felt that this could have been their year until they were drawn against Napoli, a team that are regulars in Europe’s Premier competition. However after a Iker Muniaín away goal and a convincing performance Athletic will fancy their chances of progressing onto the hallowed group stages.
17:48. Tonight sees Italian side Napoli traveling to Spain knowing that, thanks to a 1-1 score draw in last weeks first leg, they will have to score to qualify.
17:47. You can find Vavel's preview of tonights game with all the injury, team and game related news here.
17:45. Hello and welcome to VAVEL UK's LIVE coverage of Athletic Bilbao - Napoli in their second leg of the 2014/15 Champions League Play Offs; with LIVE text commentary from myself, Nathan Jones. Kick-off is at 19:45BST