Wojciech Szczesny heroics help 10-man Barcelona secure first leg advantage against Benfica | OneFootball

Barcelona are in pole position to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League after securing a 1-0 victory over Benfica in the first leg of their round of 16 tie at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon.

Hansi Flick’s side were almost 1-0 down inside 18 seconds when Kerem Akturkoglu was played in, but Wojciech Szczesny made a huge save. Soon after, Barcelona should have gone ahead but for a triple save from Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin, who denied Dani Olmo, Robert Lewandowski and Lamine Yamal from close range.

On 22 minutes, the game dynamic took a big turn as Barcelona were reduced to 10 men. Vangelis Pavlidis ran through on goal, and just before reaching the penalty area, he was taken down by Pau Cubarsi. The young defender claimed that he won the ball, but replays showed that he did not. As such, he was sent off by referee Felix Zwayer, with the decision confirmed by VAR.

Raphinha scored the only goal of the game at the Estadio da Luz (Photo by Diario Sport)

Benfica could not find a goal in the opening 60 minutes, and they were made to pay for that as Barcelona scored against the run of play. A poor pass from defender Antonio Silva was intercepted by Raphinha, who raced towards goal before firing an unstoppable effort past Trubin and into the far corner, which sparked joyous scenes among Flick and his coaching staff in the dugout.

Benfica started to get even more desperate after conceding, and they thought they had won a penalty when substitute Andrea Belotti was fouled inside the area by Szczesny, but the Italian striker was offside, which was confirmed after a VAR check.

Szczesny made eight saves in total, which the last coming in the closing stages from a fine strike from Renato Sanches. In the end, he was able to hang on to his clean sheet, and it means that Barcelona have a one-goal advantage going into the second leg at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys in six days’ time.