Barça Achieves a Soothing Victory, Resolved the Tie in the First Half with a New Brace from Raphinha, who becomes the top scorer of the Champions League. Pedri took the MVP trophy of the match, another impressive performance both with the ball and in defense. Highlighting the minute of silence held at the beginning of the match in honor of Carles Miñarro, who passed away last Saturday.
A 17-Year-Old Star
Flick's team came out from the start to finish the tie as soon as possible and struck in the tenth minute. Wonderful cut by Lamine that takes down two Lisbon defenders to leave a key pass to the far post and there appeared Raphinha. However, Benfica was going to respond two minutes later, Otamendi headed alone in the small area and put the tie on the scoreboard.
The problem for the Lisbon team had a name and surname: Lamine Yamal. The very young Spanish winger was going to score a goal only at the level of the best players in the world. From the corner of the area, he placed the ball in the top corner, impossible for Trubin.
This was not going to end there, as a very well-directed counterattack by Balde was going to end in a goal by Raphinha, his second. Without a doubt, the best for Bruno Lage's team was the result, as Barça had several chances to have gone into the break with a bigger lead.
Controlled Soccer
In this second half, few things happened, Flick's team dedicated themselves to controlling the match to prevent Benfica from getting back into the tie or cutting the lead. All the players slowed down several gears compared to the intensity they had in the first half, due to the result. Bruno Lage made changes in his team to look for that goal that closes the gap, but it was in vain.
The great ovation of the night went to Lamine Yamal, who played an almost perfect first 45 minutes. Another who was quite applauded was Íñigo Martínez, who was once again the 'kaiser' of the blue and red defense. Benfica had a couple of chances, but they didn't put much pressure on Szczęsny, who had a calmer match than in the first leg.
The opponent for the quarterfinals will be known tomorrow, it will either be Dortmund or Lille (they are 1-1). Before that, they will have a key match to secure the league title, traveling to Madrid to face Atlético at the Metropolitano.
Technical Sheet
FC Barcelona: Szczęsny, Araújo, Koundé, Íñigo Martínez (Eric García 87'), Balde, De Jong (Casadó 81'), Pedri, Raphinha, Lamine (Fermín 81'), Dani Olmo (Gavi 69'), Lewandowski (Ferran 69').
Benfica: Trubin, Araújo (João Rego 84'), Otamendi, Silva, Dahl, Aursens, Florentino (Barreiro 70'), Kökçü (Belotti 70'), Akturkoglu (Amdouni 55'), Schjelderup (Renato Sánchez 55'), Pavlidis
Goals: Raphinha (1-0), Otamendi (1-1), Lamine Yamal (2-1), Raphinha (3-1)
Cards: Silva,
Stadium: Lluís Companys
Referee: Letexier, François