Benfica 0 Barcelona 1 – Raphinha's flexibility? Impressive De Jong? Star Szczesny?
Barcelona managed a 1-0 victory over Benfica despite going down to 10-men as they triumphed in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 match.
Barcelona should have gone ahead in the 12th minute of the game. Antoliy Trubin in the Benfica goal managed a magnificent triple save — including from Robert Lewandowski — to keep the scores level.
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Then came one of the defining moments of the game. In the 22nd minute, Vangelis Pavlidis drove through Barcelona's high defensive line. As he edged closer to Wojciech Szczesny in the Barcelona goal, Pau Cubarsi took him down from behind. Referee Felix Zwayer had no option but to send the defender off.
Benfica were the stronger side in the first part of the second half, but Barcelona fought back. And in the 63rd minute, Raphinha collected the ball in the Benfica half. He drove forward before firing past Trubin from range — courtesy of a deflection — to give his side the lead.
Barcelona then survived a penalty scare to get the win — and go into the second leg in Barcelona next week with the advantage.
Here, The Athletic's experts Dermot Corrigan and Anantaajith Raghuraman analyse the first leg.
Where would Barcelona be without Raphinha?
The 28-year-old endured a middling first half, with Cubarsi's early dismissal forcing him to use his work-rate to defend rather than harry Benfica's backline. In the odd occasion where Barcelona got forward, Raphinha uncharacteristically seemed to lack a little composure, twice playing crosses into dangerous areas rather than trying to find one of his attacking partners.
While defending, Raphinha provided Alejandro Balde with some much-needed help, which in turn allowed Balde to grow in confidence as the game went on. Raphinha combined well with Pedri and Lewandowski as Barcelona's defence remained resolute in the second half, giving their attackers a chance to hit the hosts on the counter.
Following Yamal's substitution, Raphinha shifted over to the right and almost instantly made an impact. He intercepted a loose pass from Antonio Silva and drove forward before firing a shot on goal from the edge of the box that beat Trubin via a deflection. It was his third goal against Benfica, having scored the dramatic winner and a fortunate header in the league-phase meeting. More importantly, Raphinha combined well defensively with Kounde to limit Alvaro Fernandez Carreras' impact, with the Benfica left-back also picking up a booking that ruled him out of the second leg.
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In the same game, Raphinha had played as a left-winger, right-winger and right wing-back while scoring the decisive goal, running relentlessly from back to front and making numerous important defensive interventions. This was a performance that tested Barcelona to their limits and once again, Raphinha emerged as their talisman.
Anantaajith Raghuraman
One of Flick's big selection calls was to start Frenkie De Jong in midfield over Marc Casado, and the Dutchman — wearing the captain's armband — gave a performance which repaid his coach's confidence.
During the hectic opening stages, De Jong was often involved, taking the ball deep in his own half and helping his side play through Benfica's high-press. One moment stood out when the De Jong turned away from two would-be pressers, and accelerated away, forcing Barreira to pull him back to stop the danger.
Soon after the game changed with Cubarsi's sending off, De Jong barrelled over Benfica left-back Carreras, signalling to his teammates that they were going to need determination with a man fewer.
But it was not all about sitting back to defend with 10 — the 27-year-old kept looking to get his team moving forward. Coming up to half-time, he burst through two players to get deep into the Benfica half, and then curved a ball behind the defence which would have created a big chance for Raphinha if the Brazilian had read it quickly enough.
The former Ajax player has never really lived up to his €86million price-tag from his 2019 arrival. Barcelona's directors have long disliked paying his hefty salary, and many Catalan fans and pundits would prefer to see local youngster Casado in the team.
But Flick likes the more experienced De Jong, who has now started seven of Barcelona's last 10 games, and tonight's performance in a really tricky game showed just why.
Dermot Corrigan
January's group stage trip to Benfica was when Szczesny played his first Champions League game for Barcelona. He conceded four goals that night, a couple of them comical, but has kept his place and is now firmly Flick's first choice.
Barcelona are unbeaten in the 14 games since in all competitions, but there were still plenty of questions around Szczesny, who just a few months ago was spending his retirement in Marbella. A 68 per cent save percentage coming into tonight's game was not great, but his sweeping off his line and general experience behind a young defence are really valued by his coach.
The Poland international was quickly involved tonight with a fine save from Kerem Akturkoglu after just 18 seconds. Just before half-time he showed fine footwork to get quickly off his line and spread himself to smother when a cross reached Akturkoglu at the back post.
After the break, Sczeszny was again busy, saving first from Orkun Kokcu, then making an even better stop from Fredrik Aursnes, after really good work down the left by Spain Under-21 left-back Carreras, formerly of Manchester United.
The veteran former Arsenal and Juventus keeper was also solid coming from his line to catch crosses, calm with the ball at his feet, and took his time over goal kicks as Barcelona were very happy to run down the clock, especially at 1-0 up.
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There was a late late-off, when an offside flag saved Sczeszny after referee Felix Zwayer had whistled a penalty for a foul on Benfica sub Andrea Belotti. But he'd earned some good fortune — ending the game with seven saves and this was by far his best night so far in a Barcelona shirt.
Dermot Corrigan
Following Cubarsi's send-off, Flick brought on Ronald Araujo to replace Dani Olmo. Araujo took Cubarsi's place, while Raphinha and Lamine Yamal dropped into a midfield four out of possession. It meant Lewandowski was often isolated up top.
Barcelona's defensive line dropped a few meters but they remained aggressive, which gave Benfica openings, with Pavlidis seeing a couple of shots blocked and Akturkoglu forcing an excellent save from Wojciech Sczeszny. Szceszny was called into action multiple times early in the second half too, making a brilliant double save to deny Fredrik Aursnes while repeatedly punching out corners.
When on the ball, Barcelona looked for fast breaks. They advanced the ball quickly in the 32nd and 34th minute, first through a neat Pedri pass and then a driving run from De Jong. In the seventh minute of first-half stoppage time, Pedri did brilliantly to feed Raphinha but the winger's cross was between Robert Lewandowski and Yamal, allowing Benfica to clear. Pedri was at the heart of Barcelona's best move early in the second half too, combining well with Yamal and Lewandowski to win a corner following a Benfica attack.
With Carreras wreaking havoc on Benfica's left at the start of the second half, Flick replaced Yamal with Ferran Torres in the 56th minute, moving Raphinha over to the right to give Jules Kounde more help, a smart move that paid dividends in more ways than one.
As Benfica grew into the game, Barcelona's 10 men showed resilience, with Araujo and Inigo Martinez — despite being on yellow cards — repeatedly making crucial blocks, with ample help from Jules Kounde and Alejandro Balde. Szceszny and Frenkie de Jong put in their best displays in a Barcelona shirt, while Pedri continued his string of brilliant performances, winning fouls and holding onto possession brilliantly under pressure. Barcelona's second-half substitutes stuck to the task too, with Gerard Martin, Ferran Torres and Marc Casado all contributing to one of their most impressive performances of the season.
Anantaajith Raghuraman
We will bring you this after he has spoken at the post-match press conference.
Saturday, March 8: Osasuna (Home), La Liga, 8pm UK, 3pm ET
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