By Bootballer Desk • Football • Mar 12, 2025 03:13 AM • 80 views
Kathmandu — Barcelona once again stamped their authority on European football, securing a place in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals with a 3-1 second-leg victory over Benfica, sealing a 4-1 aggregate win in the Round of 16.
Having already carried a slender 1-0 advantage from the first leg, the Catalan giants were clinical on home turf at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys on Tuesday night, with Raphinha stealing the show with a dazzling brace, while teenage sensation Lamine Yamal added his name to the scoresheet.
Raphinha opened the scoring in the 11th minute, latching onto a clever pass from Yamal to give Barça the early lead. But Benfica responded swiftly; Nicolás Otamendi powered home with an equalizer just two minutes later to silence the home crowd momentarily.
The pendulum swung back Barcelona's way in the 27th minute when Yamal restored the lead, this time capitalizing on Raphinha's sharp setup play to make it 2-1.
Barcelona thought they had their third just before halftime when Raphinha tapped in a low cross from Alejandro Balde, but VAR intervened to chalk off the goal for a marginal offside.
Despite dominating possession in the second half, Barça couldn't add more goals—but the damage was already done. Flick's men now march into the quarter-finals, brimming with confidence and momentum, while Benfica exit the competition, undone by the brilliance of Barça's vibrant attack.
