Barcelona 3-1 Benfica Player Ratings: Wing Wizards Lamine Yamal and Raphinha power Barcelona into the quarters

Barcelona stormed into the quarters of the UEFA Champions League after seeing off Benfica at Olimpic Lluis Companys. The Catalans had to thank the wing wizards Lamine Yamal and Raphinha for yet another sparkling performance in a 3-1 win.

Raphinha and Nicolas Otamendi traded goals in the early minutes. Yamal scored a wonder goal to give Barcelona the lead before Raphinha grabbed his second to settle the tie before going into the break. The hosts made light work of opposition in the second half.

The hosts came into the game on an emotional note as they recently lost their team doctor Carles Minarro. They even postponed their league fixture last weekend and said they would dedicate tonight’s game to the doctor. Pau Cubarsi’s suspension forced their only change from the first leg as Ronald Araujo came in.

Bruno Lage’s side sharpened their goalscoring skills on the weekend after a 3-0 thumping of Nacional. A heavy rotation on the weekend meant the usual heavy hitters walked into the lineup. Tomas Araujo replaced Alvaro Carreras at right-back due to his suspension.

The Catalans had to protect a single-goal advantage. Hansi Flick believed the attack was the best form of defence as they started the game on a front foot. Benfica too came out to play as they started knitting passes together. Pedri found Lamine Yamal on the break as the youngster fired the first shot of the game.

The tie twisted and turned 180 seconds past the ten-minute mark. Yamal found Raphinha with an excellent cross and the Brazilian notched up his 10th Champions League goal of the campaign. Barcelona thought they had some breathing room but the visitors struck back immediately. Andreas Schjelderup swung in a corner and Benfica’s skipper Nicolas Otamendi outjumped everyone to send it past the fingertips of Wojciech Szczesny into the back of the net.

It restored the status quo as Benfica hunted for a leveler in the tie. Lamine Yamal showed another glimpse of his genius as he scored a sensational goal. The teenager cut onto his left foot and simply placed the ball into the top corner from 25 yards out with ease.

His eye for wonder goals never fails to amaze the audience as the entire stadium was on their feet to applaud the youngster. Yamal became the youngest player in the history of the UEFA Champions League to score and assist in a single game at 17 years and 241 days.

Robert Lewandowski missed a glorious opportunity to settle the tie before the break but he shot straight at Anatoliy Trubin. Raphinha made no such mistakes when Alejandro Balde played him through and he hit one across the face of the goal with his left foot to put Barcelona 3-1 up on the night. The halftime whistle confirmed that the tie was nearly over as the away team let their shoulders and chin drop.

The second half was all about game management from Barcelona. They could see the wind being taken out of Benfica’s sail and had to play 45 minutes of safe football. They however had great chances to stretch their lead as well. Ronald Araujo came close from a Raphinha freekick. Yamal had another shot from inside the box but this wasn’t anywhere close to the target.

Frenkie de Jong then missed a sitter from 2 yards out after making a great run into the box when Jules Kounde found him with a cross. Vangelis Pavlidis then had a good chance to give his side some fighting chance but the Greek picked the keeper to shoot at. Despite some chances here and there, it was an easy game for the hosts to see out.

A well-rounded performance takes the Blaugrana into the Quarter Finals again. They will be facing the winners of the Dortmund-Lille tie in early April. Slowly but surely, they would be dreaming of a sixth Champions League title. They travel away to Atletico Madrid in a crunch league game on Sunday in La Liga next.

This means the end of the road in the Champions League for Benfica. They fall victim to Barcelona yet again in a high-scoring encounter following the 4-5 defeat earlier in the league phase. The two-time champions will be ruing missed opportunities as the margins are extremely small at this level. Rio Ave will host them in the Portuguese League on Sunday night.

Barcelona Player Ratings

GK – Wojciech Szczesny – 6/10

Got a good hand to Otamendi’s header but couldn’t prevent it from crossing the line. Barely had to do anything after that.

RB – Jules Kounde – 6.5/10

Stayed deep and played as a third centre-back at times to help in the build-up. Pretty solid defensively too as head read and cleared some dangers.

CB – Ronald Araujo – 6/10

Failed to react to the corner as the ball flew past him towards Otamendi. Had a great chance to head one in but found the side netting.

CB – Inigo Martinez – 7/10

Involved in some good sweeping challenges and clearances in the box. Standard play in possession by keeping it safe.

LB – Alejandro Balde – 7.5/10

Full of pace and energy on the left as he attacked the fullback aggressively. Created a great chance for Olmo. Slipped Raphinha to finally claim an assist after a fast break.

DM – Frenkie de Jong – 7/10

Happy to receive the ball on half turn and keep things ticking. Excellent anticipation to win the ball as well.

DM- Pedri – 7/10

He nonchalantly ate up space after receiving the ball and set his sides on countless attacks. Displayed his usual range of touches and line-breaking passes.

RW- Lamine Yamal – 9/10

A delicate cross at the end of a good run found Raphinha to open the scoring and a goal that was worthy of winning any game to give his side the lead again.

CAM- Dani Olmo – 7/10

A fantastic opportunity to put his side in front again but he opened his foot wrongly and skied the effort. Kept creating openings but couldn’t get an end product.

LW- Raphinha – 8/10

Continued his red-hot form by scoring early with a cushioned finish from Yamal’s cross. Another excellent finish from his left foot to kill the tie.

ST- Robert Lewandowski – 6/10

A poor defensive header allowed the ball to find its way to Otamendi for the equalizer. Was either overhitting or under-hitting everything near the final third.

Sub- Gavi- 6/10

Sub- Ferran Torres- 6/10

Sub- Fermin Lopez- N/A

Sub- Marc Casado- N/A

Sub- Eric Garcia- N/A

Manager- Hansi Flick – 8/10

He never had the intention of sitting back and defending even when the game was level. His wingers and relentless pressing helped him get the better of the opposition. The famous offside trap worked too as Benfica were perennially caught on the wrong side.

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Benfica Player Ratings

GK- Anatoliy Trubin – 6/10

A decent save from a Lamine Yamal shot early on. There stood no chance when the Spaniard returned and placed one into the top left corner.

RB- Tomas Araujo – 5/10

He was assaulted by Raphinha and Balde in tandem and often struggled to keep pace. Lost Raphinha for the first goal and was beaten by Balde for pace multiple times. Was beaten by Yamal for the second goal as well.

CB – Antonio Silva – 5.5/10

Positioned himself between the ball and the danger multiple times and cleared it. A poor tackle on Raphinha earned him a yellow card.

CB – Nicolas Otamendi – 6.5/10

The skipper brought his sides back into the game with a thumping header in style. Talked himself into the book after some dissent following the third goal for Barcelona.

LB – Samuel Dahl – 6.5/10

Played high and wide to create an overload on their left-hand side and hurt the opposition. Did win quite a lot of challenges on Yamal.

CM – Florentino Luis – 6/10

Thrown straight into the lineup after an injury. Had a great start with some interceptions but he was forced to retreat and defend when Barcelona took charge.

CM – Fredrik Aursnes – 6/10

Showed good agility to evade Barca’s press and progress the ball. Offered little resistance defensively as his side struggled to control the game.

CM – Orkun Kokcu – 5.5/10

The Turkish international was playing an unfamiliar game as he was constantly chasing Barcelona’s midfielders. He lost duels and committed fouls as the game bypassed him.

RW – Kerem Akturkoglu – 5.5/10

Saw very little of the ball and dropped deep to make a play. Was replaced as he was not making any impact.

ST- Vangelis Pavlidis – 5.5/10

Led his side with good involvement in build-up play. Rattled the crossbar from an offside position.

LW- Andreas Schjelderup – 7/10

Hugged the sidelines and provided creativity from the left. Picked up an assist with a lovely corner kick.

Sub- Zeki Amdouni- 6/10

Sub- Renato Sanches- 6/10

Sub- Leandro Barreiro- 6/10

Sub- Andrea Belotti- 6/10

Sub- Joao Rego- N/A

Manager- Bruno Lage – 6/10

Would be disappointed with his side’s defensive intensity as they conceded key goals just when the game was getting tight. Needed more from his forwards too as he missed the creativity of Angel Di Maria.

Sportdunia’s Player of the Match goes to: Lamine Yamal

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