Raphinha strikes to give 10-man Barcelona last-16 edge over Benfica
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LISBON, Portugal (AP) — Barcelona was reduced to 10 men after an early red card but goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny came through when his team needed him in a hard-fought win over Benfica in the Champions League on Wednesday.
Szczesny made some big saves at Benfica’s Stadium of Light in Barcelona’s 1-0 away victory in the first leg of the round of 16.
The first stop came seconds into the match when Szczesny showed quick reflexes to extend his right hand and deflect a close-range low shot by Benfica forward Kerem Akturkoglu.
Szczesny also stopped a free kick taken by Orkun Kokcu in the 25th, after defender Pau Cubarsí was sent off with a straight red in the 22nd for a foul from behind on forward Vangelis Pavlidis.
Szczesny showed quick hands again for his third great save in the first half after a close-range header by Akturkoglu in the 43rd.
The Polish goalkeeper continued his good performance in the second half as Benfica kept pressing forward and creating scoring opportunities.
The 34-year-old Szczesny came out of retirement to join Barcelona after regular starter Marc-André ter Stegen sustained a serious knee injury last year.
Iñaki Peña initially took over the starting spot after Ter Stegen’s injury, but Szczesny eventually became coach Hansi Flick’s first choice in goal for the Spanish club.
Olmo sacrificed after red card
Flick had to replace playmaker Dani Olmo with defender Ronald Araújo in the 28th after Cubarsí was ejected.
The 18-year-old Cubarsí fouled Pavlidis from behind as the Benfica forward was just about to enter the area with only Szczesny to beat.
The second leg is next Tuesday in Barcelona.
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The Champions League round of 16 first leg clashes conclude tonight, with four more huge games across the continent.
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Scorers: Elliott 87′
Liverpool pulled off one of the miracle wins in recent memory, escaping Paris with a 1-0 first leg win despite being dominated for the near-entirety of the game by PSG.
Given the quality of the teams on display, it was little surprise that the opening 15 minutes saw both size each other up, with little in the way of chances.
João Neves had the first, and really should have scored after Ousmane Dembélé put the ball on a plate for him 12 yards out. It was stunning wing play from the red-hot Frenchman, who nutmegged Andy Robertson before finding the Portuguese midfielder, who blazed over.
It was the other superstar wide man, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia, who thought he had got the opening goal in the 20th minute with a wonderful left-footed curled effort from inside the box. However, VAR ruled there was a slight offside in the build up.
Ibrahima Konaté then had the video officials to thank following a check on a very questionable last man challenge on Bradley Barcola.
Barcola and Dembélé then contrived to not score from three gilt-edged chances, before Kvaratskhelia went close, with a combination of poor finishing, last-ditch defending and Alisson keeping Liverpool on level terms at the break.
The second half started with more of the same, Alisson doing very well to turn away Kvaratskhelia’s free kick.
PSG continued to utterly dominate the ball and the chances, but could not find the killer touch as Liverpool battled on in hope of a miraculous result.
Désiré Doué was the next to put Alisson to work, the PSG substitute forcing another great save from the Brazilian with a lovely curled effort.
Somehow, Liverpool took the lead with three minutes to go with their very first shot on target. Alisson punted the ball long, Darwin Núñez took it down, and played it across to Harvey Elliott who side footed it past the arm of Gianluigi Donnarumma.
They held on for one of the most unlikely wins you are ever likely to see, and one that continues the trend of the Parisians rescuing defeat from the jaws of victory in Europe.
Scorers: Raphinha 61′
Barcelona survived an early red card to win 1-0 against Benfica, with Raphinha once again the scourge of Lisbon.
The hosts almost got off to the dream start inside 30 seconds when Kerem Aktürkoğlu forced Wojciech Szczęsny into a fine save.
Barça quickly settled, and enjoyed the vast majority of the possession in the opening 20 minutes, however went down to 10 when Pau Cubarsí was sent off for a failed last man challenge Vangélis Pavlídis on the edge of the box.
Even with a man fewer, the LaLiga leaders stayed in the game quite easily but again had their Polish keeper to thank for keeping them on level terms, as he saved brilliantly from Aktürkoğlu just before the break.
Against the odds, Barça took the lead just after the hour, and it was the tormentor of Benfica in January, Raphinha, who was the scorer. Antonio Silva gifted the Brazilian the ball 25 yards out, and he made no mistake with a brilliant left-footed strike.
Hansi Flick’s side held out for a massive victory, which makes them overwhelming favourites to progress to the last eight.
Scorers: Kane 9′, (pen) 75′, Musiala 54′
Bayern Munich have one foot in the Champions League quarter finals after crushing a self-destructive Bayer Leverkusen 3-0 at the Allianz Arena.
In a gam billed as a battle of the Bundesliga, Bayern started the better, and took the lead through Harry Kane inside 10 minutes, who scored with a stunning header from Michael Olise’s right-hand side cross. The England captain timed his run perfectly and powered a header into the bottom corner, giving Matěj Kovář no chance.
Leverkusen almost equalised right away after Dayot Upamecano made a mess of things at the back. The French defender had Manuel Neuer to thank for saving his blushes after denying Jeremie Frimpong.
Bayern dominated much of the first half, both in terms of possession and chances, but could not a grab a second before the break.
However, they did shortly into the second half. As in the first half, it came nine minutes after the kick off, and it was simply gifted to them by Kovář. The Leverkusen keeper dropped a simple cross from Kimmich, allowing Jamal Musiala to nip in and poke the ball home.
Bayern’s own keeper, Neuer, was forced off shortly after with an unspecified injury, replaced by Jonas Urbig for his club debut.
Things went from bad to worse for Xabi Alonso’s side in the 62nd minute when Nordi Mukiele was given a second yellow for a foolish tackle on Kingsley Coman.
Their collapse continued with the concession of a penalty from Edmond Tapsoba, who pulled Kane down inside the box. The striker dusted himself down to confidently put his side 3-0 to the good.
Bayern could have had more, but will be very confident of finishing the job off next week.
Scorers: Thuram 38′, Martínez 50′
Inter Milan have more than one foot in the quarter-finals after a 2-0 win away to a determined Feyenoord side.
Inside a bearpit of noise at the De Kuip, the game got off to an even start with both sides having decent openings without ever truly looking like scoring.
Given the injuries to his side, new Feyenoord boss Robin van Perise would have been delighted at how his charges nullified the Italian giants for large parts of the first half, with Lautoro Martínez and Marcus Thuram feeding on scraps up front.
However, it was not to last with two goals either side of the break giving his side a mountain to climb.
It was 37-year-old defender Francesco Acerbi who had Inter’s first shot on target just past the half hour mark, getting into the box and testing Timon Wellenreuther with a left-footed drive.
Simone Inzaghi’s side then scored with their second shortly after, and it was a brilliant goal. Former PSV man Denzel Dumfries got the ball on the right, passed it back to Nicolò Barella, whose excellent cross was met with an equally top class acrobatic finish from Thuram.
The hosts had Wellenreuther to thank for keeping it to 1-0 at the break, with the keeper making a fine save from Kristjan Asllani’s dangerous free kick right before the referee blew his whistle.
It was two just five minutes into the second half, with Martínez joining his strike partner on the scoresheet with another fine finish. Alessandro Bastoni cut in on the left and played it to Piotr Zieliński, whose shot was blocked into the path of the Argentinian, who made no mistake with a ruthless strike.
Zieliński then wasted a great chance to put the tie to bed from the spot after Thuram was taken down. In fairness to the Polish midfielder, Wellenreuther did extremely well to get down and turn his low shot away.
It mattered little as the Italians held out to near-book their passage into the last eight. Having now conceded only once in nine Champions League games this season, Feyenoord require a miracle next week in the San Siro.
📸 FRANCK FIFE – AFP or licensors
Portugal Soccer Champions League
Liverpool pull off ultimate smash and grab win
Raphinha and 10-man Barcelona haunt Benfica again
Bayern assert dominance as Leverkusen collapse
Later
Inter reign in Rotterdam
UEFA Champions League: Benfica vs Barcelona – team news, kickoff, stream
Al Jazeera looks at the first leg of the Champions League round of 16 tie between Benfica and Barcelona in Lisbon.
Who: Benfica vs Barcelona
What: UEFA Champions League round of 16 first leg
Where: Estadio de Luz, Lisbon, Portugal
When: Wednesday, March 5 at 8pm (20:00 GMT)
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Five-time winners Barcelona visit Lisbon to face Benfica on Wednesday in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie.
Barca have not won the competition since 2015 but finished second in the group stage and are among the favourites to lift the trophy.
Benfica have reached the final on seven occasions but have only lifted the trophy twice – in 1961 and 1962.
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick dismissed claims that his team have an “easy” path to the Champions League final, ahead of their last 16 clash against Benfica.
Should the Spanish giants progress from the tie, they will face either Borussia Dortmund or Lille in the quarterfinals.
Real Madrid, the record 15-time winners, as well as Atletico Madrid, Liverpool, Arsenal and Paris Saint-Germain are in the other half of the draw. Barcelona, who top the Spanish league by a point, could only meet those sides in a potential final.
“In this phase, there’s no easy game – every team deserves to be here at this stage, and I think Benfica too,” Flick told reporters on Tuesday. “Benfica is a fantastic team [and] we play in a great stadium and it’s really a special atmosphere there.
“Their [fans] push the team on a lot, supporting them, and it will be really tough tomorrow – hard work for us.”
Flick would not be drawn on who the tournament favourites are and which side would pose the most threat to Barca’s hopes.
“Always the next match. Benfica is for us the next difficult opponent,” the German coach said.
“It’s not good to [talk about] these things. We focus on the next match and the next match, and that’s a good way to do this.
“It always starts at 0-0, and you have to give everything… the other teams are doing really well and they always want to win against us.”
Barcelona beat Benfica 5-4 in Lisbon in a thrilling group-stage comeback.
Defender Pau Cubarsi said his team had to focus more to stop the Portuguese side, for whom Vangelis Pavlidis scored a 30-minute hat-trick.
“It was complicated… we gave up a lot of chances. We have to try not to concede goals,” said Cubarsi, who made his Barcelona debut in January 2024 and has rapidly become a key figure.
“We have to know how to manage games… this is a two-legged tie and we have to give everything from the start,” continued the 18-year-old.
“Each year, Barca should be competing for everything. For me, we are the best club in the world. This year, people say we have the best pathway in the tournament, but I don’t see it like that.”
Benfica manager Bruno Lage, whose side are second in the Portuguese league, told fans to brace for more excitement on Wednesday following the nine-goal thriller in the league phase.
Lage said Benfica, who lost the last meeting to a stoppage time Raphinha strike, will stay true to their identity of attacking football when they host Barca, and that he expects the Spanish giants to do the same.
“I can’t predict how many goals will be scored in the game, but I can predict a great game of football because they’re two teams with an eye for attack,” Lage told a news conference on Tuesday.
“I think it’s going to be a tough match and we will go out for the win. Sure, tomorrow’s result will be important, but the result of the second leg will be more decisive.
“We’re going up against a great team who score a lot of goals but we’re also looking at the positive things we’ve done against this opponent: the number of chances we’ve had, the number of times we’ve been in front of the goalkeeper… we believe we can get through this tie.”
Benfica supporters want a different outcome to that late-January rip-roaring encounter at Lisbon’s Estadio da Luz in which Barcelona fought back from two goals down to win.
“We will try to find the spaces our rivals offer us because they often do,” Lage added. We have to know how to take advantage of the spaces that Barcelona will give us – that should be the key.”
Barcelona midfielder Gavi is a doubt for Wednesday’s Champions League clash.
Gavi, who featured in Barcelona’s thrilling 5-4 win at Benfica, was on the bench in their last two league games and missed a training session due to illness.
“We will see. Yesterday, he did not train as he did not feel so good. He will visit the doctor again, we have to wait,” Flick said.
The 20-year-old has played 24 games this season, registering two goals and three assists since returning from an anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injury.
Lage confirmed that attacking midfielder Angel Di Maria and midfielder Florentino will miss Wednesday’s game as they recover but sounded optimistic that winger Renato Sanches should be ready.
“The most important thing is for the team to function as a team, as a whole, regardless of who plays,” Lage said.
The two European giants have surprisingly only met on 10 occasions.
Barca have won four of those, including the victory this season, while Benfica have only won twice.
The last of those victories was a 3-0 home win in the old group stage in 2021. The return leg that season was a goalless draw at Neu Camp – the last time the clubs met until this season.
The other Benfica win was the first meeting between the two clubs and came in the final in 1961 with the Portuguese club lifting the trophy after a 3-2 win in Bern, Switzerland.
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