Raphinha gives 10-man Barcelona 1-0 win over Benfica in Champions League

Barcelona defeated Benfica 1-0 in the Champions League last-16 first-leg victory despite the Catalan giants having 10 players in the majority of the match. Raphinha scored the only goal of the match.

Pau Cubarsi, 18, was sent off midway through the first half of the scoreless, goalless game in Lisbon on Wednesday.

Before the second leg of the match on Tuesday, Raphinha scored after 61 minutes to give Barcelona’s five-time winners a slim lead over Bruno Lage’s side.

After drawing in a match that many people believe is favorable, Barcelona are expected to win the competition again this year.

On a contented evening in the Portuguese capital, Hansi Flick reaffirmed that there was no such thing as an “easy” Champions League tie before the match.

After his team won, the German coach declared, “I’m very proud.”

In the final minute of the match, Barca were pinned back after Wojciech Szczesny made amends after making two high-profile saves against Benfica in the league stage in January.

After a few seconds, Szczesny made a wise save to deny Benfica’s Kerem Akturkoglu, and the opening act showed that both teams were returning from Barcelona’s wild 5-4 victory in Lisbon.

“The last time, I don’t think [Szczesny] left here very happy,” said Barca midfielder Pedri.

He “save a lot” [tonight], one where you start the game off poorly if they score; between the sticks, he’s a big presence and it’s great to have him.

Before Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin made a stunning triple save to keep the score level, Dani Olmo fired narrowly wide as Barca threatened.

The Ukrainian mopped up Lamine Yamal’s attempt from the rebound and then parried Dani Olmo’s prodded effort before making a brilliant stop to thwart Robert Lewandowski’s conversion from point blank range.

After 22 minutes, Cubarsi, 18, was sent off for Barcelona.

Vangelis Pavlidis, who had scored a hat-trick in the group game, was scythed down by the Spaniard as he ran through on goal.

Szczesny saved Ronald Araujo’s free kick from Orkun Kokcu, who was then replaced by Olmo Flick for the defender.

After Marc-Andre ter Stegen suffered a severe knee injury in September, Barcelona released the Polish goalkeeper, who also performed well in a save to prevent Akturkoglu’s header before the break.

Despite their numerical disadvantage, Flick’s Barca performed as good as they could at the Estadio da Luz.

Before Raphinha broke the deadlock, Szczesny succeeded in stopping Pavlidis and preventing Benfica from spreading.

After Flick and Ferran Torres replaced Yamal early in the second half, Raphinha stepped up to win the ball back high up and wallop a low, deflected effort home from distance.

The forward had the best career of his career in his ninth Champions League goal in nine games.

In the final stages, Benfica attempted to level the playing field, but Barcelona frantically defended.

When Szczesny felled Andrea Belotti, the hosts believed they had won a penalty, but a mistake occurred during the build-up, and Barcelona stayed in control.

“We already knew how to defend,” Pedri continued. We were prepared to defend as a block, capitalize on our opportunities with the players we had up front, and stay together at the back after the red.

In another Champions League semifinal match, Bayern Munich defeated bayer Leverkusen 3-0 to defeat Bayern Munich’s Bundesliga rivals. Liverpool remained top all night thanks to Harvey Elliott’s late goal, which gave them a 1-0 victory at Paris Saint-Germain.