Barcelona secured a hard-fought victory against Benfica in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie, overcoming an early red card for teenage defender Pau Cubarsí to claim a 1-0 win. Raphinha’s decisive second-half goal and Wojciech Szczesny’s goalkeeping heroics proved crucial as the Spanish side weathered relentless pressure from the hosts.
The match took a dramatic turn in the 22nd minute when Cubarsí was sent off for a last-man foul on Vangelis Pavlidis. Reduced to ten men, Barcelona found themselves under heavy attack from a determined Benfica side. However, Szczesny delivered a sensational performance between the posts, making a string of crucial saves to keep his team in contention.
The veteran goalkeeper, who came out of retirement to replace the injured Marc-André ter Stegen, was called into action within the first minute, stopping a powerful strike from Kerem Akturkoglu. His sharp reflexes were on display throughout the night, denying Benfica’s numerous attempts to capitalize on their numerical advantage.
Despite being on the back foot for most of the match, Barcelona took the lead in the 61st minute. Benfica’s defense gifted them a golden opportunity with a misplaced pass across the box, allowing Raphinha to pounce. The Brazilian forward struck a low shot that took a deflection before finding the bottom corner of the net, sealing a crucial away goal.
As Benfica pushed forward in search of an equalizer, Szczesny continued to frustrate the Portuguese side with a series of outstanding saves. Early in the second half, he produced a stunning reaction stop to deny Fredrik Aursnes from close range. In stoppage time, he made another crucial intervention, diving to palm away a thunderous shot from Renato Sanches.
By the final whistle, Benfica had registered 15 goal attempts and dominated possession with over 60%, but they were unable to find a breakthrough. Barcelona, despite being reduced to a single shot on target in the second half, made it count and held firm defensively to secure the win.
The result left Benfica disappointed, with Aursnes expressing frustration over their missed opportunities. “It’s a bad result, we had good chances today, especially when they got the red card. We created a lot of chances, but unfortunately, we didn’t manage to score and paid a heavy price for that,” he said.
On the other hand, Barcelona’s players and staff were full of praise for Szczesny’s performance. Midfielder Pedri highlighted his impact, stating, “Szczesny saved us many times today, he is outstanding. You have to give a lot of credit for the team’s effort after going a man down so early in the game. On other days it was harder for us, but today we hung on and defended really well.”
Barcelona will now take their narrow advantage back to Spain for the second leg, knowing that they will need another disciplined performance to secure a place in the quarter-finals.
