Los Azulgranas Win at Da Luz, as happened a few weeks ago, facing another very adverse situation. The early expulsion of Cubarsí conditioned the entire match, however, Barça never lost sight of the game. Raphinha scored and Szczęsny excelled in a stadium where things hadn't gone well for him.
Just Expulsion
This first half was going to be marked by one action, the expulsion of Cubarsí at the beginning of it. Only 20 minutes had passed when the Catalan center-back brought down Pavlidis as the last man. The play was preceded by a possible foul on De Jong, but neither VAR nor the referee considered it to be one.
The other protagonist of the culé team was Szczęsny, the Polish goalkeeper returned to the stadium where he made several major mistakes. However, in this first half, it was the complete opposite, he made a couple of saves only within reach of the world's best. Likewise, the culé team continued to threaten in space, giving the impression that they could create danger.
In fact, Raphinha had a very clear chance, in which he didn't make the right decision, as the play called for a shot and he tried to assist. The best news for the Azulgranas was, without a doubt, the result and the sensations playing with numerical inferiority.
An Extremely Important Goal
After the break, Benfica corrected some errors from the first half and had several clear chances to tip the scoreboard. However, 'Tek' appeared time and again to thwart every shot from the Portuguese, in what was his best match as an Azulgrana. And that wasn't going to be the best, as Raphinha was going to capitalize on a mistake to score the only goal of the match, taking advantage of a Benfica error in the exit.
Flick's team, who played more than an hour of the match with one less player, held on and secured a victory that feels better than a rout. The return leg is still pending, but if this team has shown anything, it's that they know how to recover from setbacks. Regarding that Tuesday match, Álvaro Carreras won't be there, the Spanish full-back received a yellow card and will miss the match.
Once Again, Pedri. The Canary Islander gave another masterclass, a complete midfielder who not only creates but also breaks lines and steals balls throughout the 90 minutes. The next commitment will be next weekend, against Osasuna at the Montjuïc stadium.