Barcelona host Benfica on Tuesday in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 tie.
The Catalans battled to a 1-0 victory in the first game in Lisbon last week, Raphinha’s goal giving them a narrow aggregate advantage despite Pau Cubarsi’s first-half red card.
Wojciech Szczesny made some fine saves to preserve that scoreline, and Benfica will certainly consider themselves capable of causing a threat to Hansi Flick’s side, having scored four against them during their league-phase game back in January.
The winner of this tie will progress to the quarterfinals, where they will face either Borussia Dortmund or Lille.
The Sporting News is following the Barcelona vs. Benfica match live, providing score updates and commentary
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Barcelona vs. Benfica score
| 1st Half | Goal scorers | |
| Barcelona | 2 | Raphinha 11′, Lamine Yamal 27′ |
| Benfica | 1 | Otamendi 13′ |
Venue: Lluis Companys Olympic Stadium, Barcelona (Spain)
Referee: Francois Letexier (FRA)
Starting lineups:
Barcelona (4-2-3-1, right to left): 25. Wojciech Szczesny (GK) — 23. Jules Kounde, 4. Ronald Araujo, 5. Inigo Martinez, 3. Alejandro Balde — 21. Frenkie de Jong, 8. Pedri — 19. Lamine Yamal, 20. Dani Olmo, 11. Raphinha — 9. Robert Lewandowski
Benfica (4-3-3, right to left): 1. Anatoliy Trubin (GK) — 44. Tomas Araujo, 4. Antonio Silva, 30. Nicolas Otamendi, 26. Samuel Dahl — 8. Fredrik Aursnes, 61. Florentino, 10. Orkun Kokcu — 17. Kerem Akturkoglu, 14. Vangelis Pavlidis, 21. Andreas Schjelderup
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Barcelona vs. Benfica live updates, highlights, and commentary
35 mins: Benfica have looked deflated since conceding that second goal. Barca are in total control right now, although most of their play with the ball is in the middle third of the pitch.
27 mins: GOAL! INCREDIBLE FROM LAMINE YAMAL! After keeping a loose ball in play, the teenager skips past Samuel Dahl and then picks his spot in the far corner of Trubin’s net with his left foot. And I mean “picked”: he glanced up and just caressed a shot in from 25 yards out. Extraordinary technique.
22 mins: Three half-chances for Barca in quick succession: Lewandowski can’t quite reach a Lamine Yamal cross for a tap-in, Dani Olmo skews wide from 12 yards, and Raphinha is beaten to a throughball by Trubin. There’s no way this one is finishing 1-1.
13 mins: GOAL! WE’RE LEVEL ON THE NIGHT! A Benfica corner is inadvertently glanced on by Robert Lewandowski, and Nicolas Otamendi powers a header past Szczesny, who can’t get enough on the shot to keep it from finding the net. Benfica are back in this!
11 mins: GOAL! BRILLIANCE FROM BARCELONA! Lamine Yamal sits down two defenders with a slick turn, gets into the box and squares the ball for Raphinha, who is unmarked as he volleys home from six yards. I think Lamine Yamal may have been shooting there, but let’s give him the benefit of the doubt, as that was brilliant skill beforehand.
10 mins: A promising attack for each side ends with the flag being raised. Both teams seem to have their offside traps on point so far.
5 mins: An early chance for Lamine Yamal, who side-foots rather tamely straight at Anatoliy Trubin after a good run from Pedri.
Kickoff: First half
We’re off!
11 mins before kickoff: We’re not far from kickoff now. Before the game, there will be a moment of reflection following the passing last week of Barca club doctor Carles Minarro Garcia.
40 mins before kickoff: The return of Florentino today could be significant for Benfica. The 26-year-old has not played for five games due to a muscle injury, but his comeback could help the visitors prevent Barca taking control of the centre of the pitch.
1 hour 10 mins before kickoff: The team news is in! Dani Olmo gets a start for the home side, which seems like fair compensation after he was taken off in the first half last week following Cubarsi’s red card. As expected, Ronald Araujo replaces the suspended centre-back.
Benfica make two changes from the first leg: Samuel Dahl comes in for Alvaro Carreras, who is banned, while midfielder Florentino makes a surprising but welcome return from injury. He starts instead of Leandro Barreiro.
1 hour 35 mins before kickoff: Barca are unbeaten in their past 10 games against Benfica in European competition, and they have never lost to them on home turf. In fact, you have to go back 52 years for the last time any Portuguese side beat Barca away from home (that was Porto in the 1972/73 UEFA Cup).
2 hours before kickoff: Barca’s players and staff have been affected in recent days by the passing of team doctor Carles Minarro Garcia. Today’s game has taken on a more poignant meaning for those at the club, beyond the simple aim of qualifying for the quarterfinals.
Barcelona vs. Benfica kick off time
The match kicks off in Barcelona, Spain at 6:45 p.m. local time.
Here’s how that time translates across some of the major territories:
| Date | Kickoff time | |
| USA | Tue, March 11 | x:00 p.m. ET |
| Canada | Tue, March 11 | x:00 p.m. ET |
| UK | Tue, March 11 | 5:45 p.m. GMT |
| Australia | Wed, March 12 | 4:45 a.m. AEDT |
| India | Tue, March 11 | 11:15 p.m. IST |
Barcelona vs. Benfica lineups, team news
Pau Cubarsi is suspended for this game after his red card in Lisbon, so Ronald Araujo comes in to partner Inigo Martinez at the heart of the defence.
Barca’s injury picture is unchanged given they did not play last weekend. Andreas Christensen, Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Marc Bernal are absent, but Flick otherwise has a strong squad at his disposal. He has chosen to start Dani Olmo at No. 10, perhaps to make up for the fact that the Spain international was hauled off in the first half last week following Cubarsi’s dismissal.
Wojciech Szczesny‘s superb performance in the first leg underlined why he is Flick’s first choice during Ter Stegen’s absence, and he will start in goal once more.
Barcelona starting lineup (4-2-3-1, right to left): Szczesny (GK) — Kounde, R. Araujo, Martinez, Balde — De Jong, Pedri — Lamine Yamal, Olmo, Raphinha — Lewandowski
Barcelona subs: Pena, Kochen, Gavi, Torres, Fati, Torre, Lopez, Casado, Victor, Garcia, Fort, Martin
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Benfica are without Alvaro Carreras, the left-back having earned a one-game suspension due to a yellow card in the first leg. Samuel Dahl is his replacement.
Head coach Bruno Lage rested a few key players for the weekend win over Nacional. Goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin was an unused substitute, while Vangelis Pavlidis, Kerem Akturkoglu, Leandro Barreiro and Andreas Schjelderup were all restricted to 25 minutes or less in the second half of the 3-0 victory. All start this game, with the exception of Barreiro, who makes way for the returning Florentino.
Benfica starting lineup (4-3-3, right to left): Trubin (GK) — T. Araujo, A. Silva, Otamendi, Dahl — Aursnes, Florentino, Kokcu — Akturkoglu, Pavlidis, Schjelderup
Benfica subs: Soares, Amdouni, Cabral, Barreiro, Belotti, Prestianni, Nuno Felix, Oliveira, Santos, Bajrami, Joao Rego, Sanches
Barcelona vs. Benfica live stream, TV channel
Here is how to watch the match in some of the world’s major regions:
