FC Barcelona 3-1 Benfica: Onward to the quarters!

Barça are through to the quarter finals of the Champions League! The odds were already nicely stacked in their favour following their 1-0 win in Lisbon, but there were still another 90 minutes to be played against one of Europe’s biggest clubs.

The team got the job done quickly, with two goals from Raphinha, both assisted by Lamine Yamal, who scored the other himself, to lead 3-1 at the break and 4-1 aggregate, meaning that the second half was little more than a formality.

Hansi Flick and his players had said before the game that they wanted to honour Carles Miñarro with a win, and that’s exactly what they did. The match was preceded by an impeccably observed silence in memory of the late team doctor.

Waiting in the quarter finals will be either Borussia Dortmund or Lille, who meet in northern France tomorrow at 6.45pm CET with everything to play for following a 1-1 draw in the first leg.

Quick off the mark

Barça had started strongly and the early goal that always looked on the cards came after just ten minutes. Lamine Yamal danced his way through a number of Portuguese defenders before spotting Raphinha powering through unmarked at the far post. The perfect pass, a simple finish and Barça were off the mark.

It may have looked like full steam ahead from there, but Benfica had other ideas. Just two minutes later Nicolás Otamendi headed home a corner. The former Valencia man’s first ever goal against Barça meant we were back level on the night, but Barça still had the edge on aggregate.

Sheer beauty

Unfazed, Barça kept pushing forward and on 23 minutes were back ahead thanks to a moment of sublime beauty. Yamal collected the ball near the corner flag, worked his way to the edge of the area and then delivered the most exquisite of finishes. Rarely will you ever see a 17-year-old score a goal of such grace. But rarely will will you ever see a 17-year-old like Lamine Yamal.

And before half-time he was at it again, charging the length of the pitch as if the Benfica midfield didn’t exist and then supplying Raphinha for the Brazilian’s second goal of the night – the celebrations delayed while the VAR room informed the officials on the field that their offside call was wrong.

All under control

A goal, two assists and a place in the Champions League quarter finals as good as secure. Not a bad first 45 minutes for Lamine! It made him the youngest player in Champions League history to both score and assist in the same game.

And Raphinha’s brace meant he now has 47 goals in a Barça jersey, matching the tally of the legendary Ronaldo Luis Nazário.

To their credit, and although they were clearly fighting a losing battle, Benfica never gave up and did get the ball in the net for a second time only for the goal to be chalked off for offside. They weren’t playing badly. It’s just that Barça were so much better.

Aiming high

Having already done what they needed to do, Barça eased off in the final minutes, but were still the side that came closest to adding to the score, with Ronald Araujo and Frenkie de Jong getting two of the strongest chances.

Ultimately, the events in the second half mattered for very little. Barça had fast-tracked their way into the quarter finals. And playing the way they have in these two games against Benfica, there is no reason that they can’t got deeper and deeper into the competition that everybody loves the most.