In their Champions League last-16 first leg on Wednesday, 10-man Barcelona defeated Benfica 1-0 thanks to a spectacular goal from Raphinha and a superb defensive performance led by Wojciech Szczesny.
Pau Cubarsi’s straight red card in the 20th minute for hauling down Vangelis Pavlidis well outside the area put Barcelona in a difficult position right away.
After that, Benfica controlled the ball and put Szczesny under a lot of pressure, but the Polish goalie made a series of incredible saves to stave off the home team.
Barcelona took advantage of their opportunity in the 60th minute despite being down one player. Raphinha took advantage of a lost ball in midfield, advanced, and fired a strong long-range shot that deflected slightly before settling into the bottom corner.
Szczesny almost gave up a penalty after crashing into Andrea Belotti in the box as Benfica attempted to level, but Barcelona was saved by the offside flag.
Then, in stoppage time, the goalie produced a vital save to keep the victory intact by denying Renato Sanches.
