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Benfica vs. Barcelona final score: UEFA Champions League result, stats as Raphinha seals first-leg win after Cubarsi red

A spirited Barcelona claimed a 1-0 win over Benfica in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League Round of 16 tie despite playing much of the game with 10 men.

The Catalans won this fixture 5-4 in a thriller during the league phase, with Raphinha scoring the decisive ninth goal in second-half stoppage time, and it was the Brazilian’s fine strike that proved the difference at Estadio da Luz on Wednesday.

Benfica had been unable to make their man advantage count after Pau Cubarsi had been sent off just 22 minutes in, and it was an error from their own young centre-back, Antonio Silva, that allowed Raphinha to break the deadlock just past the hour.

The Portuguese giants pushed hard in the second half but were thwarted by an efficient Barca defensive performance and a fine display from goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, who had endured something of a horror show on his last visit here.

Full commentary and highlights | Team news and lineups

Benfica vs. Barcelona final score

  Fulltime Goal scorers
Benfica 0  
Barcelona 1 Raphinha 61′

Red card: Pau Cubarsi 22′

Venue: Estadio da Luz, Lisbon (Portugal)
Referee: Felix Zwayer (Germany)

Starting lineups:

Benfica (4-3-3, right to left): 1. Anatoliy Trubin (GK) — 44. Tomas Araujo (26. Samuel Dahl), 4. Antonio Silva, 30. Nicolas Otamendi, 3. Alvaro Carreras — 8. Fredrik Aursnes, 18. Leandro Barreiro (19. Andrea Belotti), 10. Orkun Kokcu (85. Renato Sanches) — 17. Kerem Akturtoglu, 14. Vangelis Pavlidis (9. Arthur Cabral), 21. Andreas Schjelderup (84. Joao Rego)

Barcelona (4-3-3, right to left): 25. Wojciech Szczesny (GK) — 23. Jules Kounde, 2. Pau Cubarsi, 5. Inigo Martinez, 3. Alejandro Balde — 20. Dani Olmo (4. Ronald Araujo), 21. Frenkie de Jong (17. Marc Casado), 8. Pedri — 19. Lamine Yamal (7. Ferran Torres), 9. Robert Lewandowski (35. Gerard Martin), 11. Raphinha

MORE: Lamine Yamal close to huge Barcelona contract decision

Cubarsi was given a straight red card for scything down Vangelis Pavlidis as he burst through the middle of the Barca rearguard, leaving Hansi Flick’s team facing a huge task against a team averaging three goals per game in home matches this season.

Yet a defence marshalled superbly by Inigo Martinez kept Benfica chances to a minimum, while Szczesny seemed a man on a mission to make up for the errors he committed in that 5-4 win in January. He saved well from Pavlidis and Kerem Akturtoglu in the first half as the visitors successfully killed the hosts’ momentum before the break.

When their chance came, it was no surprise that Raphinha made the most of it. The winger collected Silva’s stray pass, took two touches and fired a low shot that took a slight deflection on its way into the bottom-right corner. It was a superb finish by a player enjoying a spectacular season.

Szczesny denied Akturtoglu again before substitute Andrea Belotti thought he had won a penalty for a foul by Martinez, but the forward had strayed offside before the decision was given. Renato Sanches entered the fray for the final minutes but was another thwarted by Szczesny, although his impact could see him get a start in the return leg.

That game in Catalonia is far from a formality, but this felt like a huge result in the circumstances. Barca have a quarterfinal place firmly in their own hands.

Benfica vs. Barcelona stats

Benfica Stat Barcelona
26 Shots 10
8 Shots on target 5
1.90 Expected goals 1.19
52% Possession 48%
437 Passes 432
13 Corners 4
18 Fouls 5
4 Yellow cards 1
0 Red cards 1
3 Offsides 1

Benfica vs. Barcelona updates, highlights, and commentary

90+4 mins: SZCZESNY DENIES SANCHES! The midfielder lets fly from outside the box, and Barca’s keeper once again makes a fine save. It was straight at him, but it was hit with a lot of power, and Szczesny had to make sure he parried it to safety.

89 mins: Sanches and Samuel Dahl combine to pick out Arthur Cabral, whose shot is blocked at the near post. Sanches has already had a big impact since coming on.

88 mins: Joao Rego JUST can’t squeeze the ball in at the far post under pressure from three Barca defenders. Benfica are piling on the pressure now.

85 mins: Renato Sanches is on for Benfica for his first appearance in the Champions League since November.

83 mins: BELOTTI GOES DOWN AND A PENALTY IS GIVEN… but the flag is up for offside! VAR will need to pore over this. The offside was tight, and there was very little contact on the forward.

Offside stands. No penalty.

81 mins: Gerard Martin and Marc Casado are on to try to help Barca see this out. Martin makes a swift impact with some good far-post defending from another Carreras cross.

75 mins: Szczesny saves again! Akturtoglu’s low shot on the turn is saved by the Pole. Aursnes looked to have the better chance to shoot there, but his teammate took it on himself.

71 mins: Joao Rego and Andrea Belotti are on to bolster the Benfica attack. Carreras is late and catches Kounde on the foot, and he will now be banned for the second leg due to yellow-card accumulation.

67 mins: Aursnes shoots first time from the edge of the box, but Szczesny saves comfortably. Benfica need to find a way to rouse themselves here. They know this is a chance that is slipping away.

61 mins: GOAL! RAPHINA SCORES FOR BARCA! Antonio Silva’s pass is careless, straight to the Brazilian, who takes a couple of touches before rifling a shot into the bottom-right corner from 20 yards out. A stunning finish from a man enjoying a stellar season.

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59 mins: Benfica fashion half a chance, but it yields nothing. Barca go long with a goal kick and Jules Kounde is able to win a corner. Raphinha to take… and Benfica clear.

50 mins: Barca are still keeping a lid on this game, and doing it well.

Kickoff: Second half

We’re back underway.

Halftime

It’s level at the break, and it’s difficult to call at this point. How will the 10 men of Barcelona cope in the second half? They’ve done well until now…

45+6 mins: Another chance for Barca as Raphinha races into the box, but he tries to pick out Lamine Yamal with a low pass and Alvaro Carreras cuts it out. Could he have shot there?

45+1 mins: Barca aren’t happy with a challenge that left Inigo Martinez in a lot of pain. The defender has been booked for throwing his shinpad down before play was restarted, apparently furious that Barreiro didn’t face greater punishment for the foul. The midfielder was given a yellow card for accidentally planting his studs on Martinez’s leg, which seemed fair.

43 mins: GREAT SAVE, SZCZESNY! A cross is flicked to the far post where Akturtoglu waits for the ball to drop. He nods it goalwards, but the Polish keeper closes down the angle and spreads himself well to make the block.

41 mins: Raphinha races away on the break, but his cut-back can’t find a teammate. Barca still look a threat when they get forward. Benfica have got to judge this carefully.

39 mins: One thing Barcelona have done well here is slow the game down and prevent Benfica building up any momentum after that red card. Their cause was obviously helped by the pyrotechnics in the stands, which are currently making it difficult to see out on the pitch.

35 mins: There’s a pause in play here because of fireworks being set off in one corner of the ground by some home fans.

24 mins: Szczesny makes a good parry from the free-kick, and the rebound is put wide. Barca are going to bring on Ronald Araujo for Dani Olmo to fill in for Cubarsi.

22 mins: RED CARD! Pau Cubarsi is sent off! He was running alongside Pavlidis and slid across to try to take the ball. He made slight contact with it as he scythed down the striker, but referee Felix Zwayer says that was a foul, and one that denied a clear goal-scoring opportunity. VAR checks, and upholds the decision!

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19 mins: Vangelis Pavlidis shoots over after another Benfica break was pulled back for offside. That Barca trap has worked well so far, but it only needs to falter once…

12 mins: Brilliant from Anatoliy Trubin! He somehow keeps out Olmo and Robert Lewandowski in quick succession from close range. The Luz roars its approval.

4 mins: Big early chances! Kerem Akturtoglu is denied by a brilliant Szczesny save before Leandro Barreiro shoots wide. Then, Dani Olmo goes very close to snatching the lead for the visitors.

Kickoff: First half

We’re off and running!

5 mins before kickoff: Here come the teams. Repeat of revenge?

20 mins before kickoff: Wojciech Szczesny had a tough night in that madcap 5-4 game in January and, as you can tell from the photograph below, these hardly look like optimum conditions for goalkeeping.

50 mins before kickoff: Flick’s team are in the building. There are no major surprises in his selection this evening, although it’s worth noting that Pedri, Olmo and De Jong are pretty untested as a midfield three. That could be an interesting battle ground.

1 hour 19 mins before kickoff: The team news is IN! Dani Olmo and Frenkie de Jong both start for Barca, with the latter captaining the side here. For Benfica, Angel Di Maria misses out through injury, 

1 hour 40 mins before kickoff: This will be the 11th meeting between Benfica and Barcelona. The first was back in 1961, when Bela Guttmann’s great side won its first European Cup thanks to a 3-2 win over the Catalans. The so-called “curse” cast by Benfica’s former manager means they have not won the trophy since he left the club in 1962.

2 hours before kickoff: Hands up if you’re hoping for more drama like this!

Benfica vs. Barcelona kick off time

The match kicks off in Lisbon, Portugal at 9 p.m. local time.

Here’s how that time translates across some of the major territories:

  Date Kickoff time
USA Wed, Mar. 5 3:00 p.m. ET
Canada Wed, Mar. 5 3:00 p.m. ET
UK Wed, Mar. 5 8:00 p.m. GMT
Australia Thur, Mar. 6 7:00 a.m. AEDT
India Thur, Mar. 6 1:30 a.m. IST

Benfica vs. Barcelona lineups, team news

Benfica were afforded extra rest as they did not play last weekend, but the injury picture for Bruno Lage’s team is not exactly encouraging.

Midfielder Florentino and former Real Madrid star Angel Di Maria are still recovering from thigh injuries and did not train on Sunday. Both are ruled out of this fixture.

Manu Silva and Alexander Bah are out for the season after knee surgeries, while Tiago Gouveia is still some time away from a return. Bruma, signed from Braga in January, was left off the squad list for the Champions League knockouts as he is serving a three-game ban in European competition anyway.

There is some good news: Renato Sanches is fit enough to make the bench after time out with a muscle issue.

Benfica starting lineup (4-3-3, right to left): Trubin (GK) — T. Araujo, A. Silva, Otamendi, Carreras — Aursnes, Barreiro, Kokcu — Akturtoglu, Pavlidis, Schjelderup

Benfica subs:  Soares, Cabral, Belotti, Prestianni, Dahl, Nuno Felix, Santos, Hugo Felix, Bajrami, Joao Rego, Sanches, Prioste

MORE: All the latest Champions League news | How does the 2024/25 Champions League work? | Full UCL match schedule

The fact the weekend win over Real Sociedad ultimately became a procession due to an early red card means Barca can go with a strong and at least partly rested team.

Inigo Martinez and Alejandro Balde return to the defence after sitting things out on Sunday, while Frenkie de Jong is restored to the lineup as captain. Gavi misses out again after being ruled out of the weekend win with a fever, so Dani Olmo comes into midfield.

The front three of Lamine Yamal, Robert Lewandowski and Raphinha picks itself. With 69 goals scored between them this season, they are a formidable test for any side left in this competition.

Barcelona starting lineup (4-3-3 right to left): Szczesny (GK) — Kounde, Cubarsi, Martinez, Balde — Olmo, De Jong, Pedri — Lamine Yamal, Lewandowski, Raphinha

Barcelona subs: Pena, Kochen, R. Araujo, Torres, Fati, Torre, Lopez, Casado, Victor, Garcia, Fort, Martin

Benfica vs. Barcelona live stream, TV channel

Here’s how to watch this UEFA Champions League match across selected areas of the world’s major regions:

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