Barca books quarterfinal place in Champions League
Baku, March 12, AZERTAC
FC Barcelona became the first team to book a place in the quarterfinals of the Champions League with a 3-1 home victory over Benfica on Tuesday night, securing a 4-1 aggregate triumph, Xinhua reported.
Lamine Yamal was the star in a high-octane first half, contributing an assist and a goal. Raphinha continued his outstanding season in a game that served as a tribute to club doctor Carles Minarro, who passed away on Saturday.
Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin had already been called into action to deny Alejandro Balde when Raphinha opened the scoring in the ninth minute. Yamal twisted and turned on the right of the Benfica area and delivered a smart left-footed pass for Raphinha to fire home and put Barca ahead.
That lead lasted just two minutes before Nicolas Otamendi powered home a header at the other end after being inexplicably left unmarked five meters out.
The match turned into an end-to-end affair, with Barca finding more space on the counterattack. Yamal then scored a brilliant goal, showcasing his skill by collecting the ball wide, cutting inside, and curling a left-footed shot beyond Trubin's reach.
Robert Lewandowski should have added a third after Dani Olmo set him up inside the Benfica area, but the usually reliable striker shot straight at Trubin.
Raphinha showed how it was done moments later, controlling and firing in a low shot after the impressive Balde ran with the ball from deep inside his half. The goal was confirmed after a brief VAR check for offside.
Benfica had the ball in the net early in the second half, but it was ruled out for offside, while Ronald Araujo headed into the side netting following a free kick late in the game.
Frenkie de Jong came close to scoring after a thrilling move that saw flicks from Raphinha and Yamal, ending with De Jong sliding in and placing the ball just wide.
Benfica kept trying to find a way back into the match as Barcelona made changes and eased off the gas, preferring to defend in the closing minutes. However, Barca's offside trap continued to frustrate them until the final whistle.
Champions League last 16 second leg results are as below:
FC Barcelona (Spain) 3-1 Benfica (Portugal)
First leg: 1:0
Liverpool (England) 0-1 PSG (France) (1-4 on penalties)
First leg: 1:0
Inter Milan (Italy) 2-1 Feyenoord (Netherlands)
First leg: 2:0
Bayer Leverkusen (Germany) 0-2 Bayern Munich (Germany)
First leg: 0:3
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