Barcelona earned a deserving three points after defeating Benfica 1-0 in their first leg of the Champions League last-16 despite playing with just 10 men.
Pau Cubarsí, a teenage defender for Barcelona, was shown a red card in the 22nd minute after bringing down Vangelis Pavlidis, putting the Catalans in a tough angle in Lisbon.
Wojciech Szczęsny, Barcelona’s goalkeeper, came through as he made crucial saves to balance for the red card, including denying Orkun Kökçü’s attempt to net a goal through a free kick.
Anatoliy Trubin, who stars for Benfica, kept his side level with three great saves by denying attempts from Dani Olmo, Robert Lewandowski, and Lamine Yamal in a successive manner.
Barcelona finally broke the deadlock in the 61st minute after Raphinha’s attempt ended in the goalpost despite all the disadvantages against Barcelona.
Barcelona under head coach Hansi Flick did a great performance and kept the pressure on to steal the away win against Benfica, taking a slight advantage into their second-leg clash to be played on Tuesday.
Barcelona is hoping to continue their win streak while keeping the hope of winning the Champions League this time after the last title they won in 2015 with hopes of also clinching the La Liga.
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