Former Juventus and Poland star Zbigniew Boniek praised Naples midfielder and compatriot Piotr Zielinski after his last performance in the Europa League against Barcelona.

The Partenopei drew 1-1 on Thursday night and took the lead at Camp Nou thanks to Zielinski’s goal.

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Napoli host the Blaugrana next Thursday night and Boniek, who is now UEFA vice-president, believes the southern Italians can knock out the Catalans.

“In fact, it doesn’t happen every day to score at this stadium,” he told La Gazzetta dello Sport.

“For me, it remains an indelible memory. I hope it’s also for Piotr. I didn’t follow the match but I read about the good performances of him and Napoli.

“I am convinced that the Azzurri can eliminate Barcelona: they have the quality to do it, I hope they can do it.”

Boniek played a leading role for Poland at the 1982 World Cup in Spain as the Poles finished third in the tournament and he hopes Zielinski can follow in his footsteps.

“I hope Piotr will help Poland through the play-offs and take us to the World Cup,” he said.

“It would be important to have another strong player with the No.20 as a protagonist like me in Spain.”

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