Raphinha delivered a moment of brilliance to hand 10-man Barcelona a crucial 1-0 victory over Benfica in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 clash.
The Brazilian winger capitalized on a misplaced pass from Antonio Silva, unleashing a stunning long-range strike that left Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin with no chance as the ball rocketed into the bottom right corner.
Barcelona’s resilience was tested after Pau Cubarsí was sent off for bringing down Vangelis Pavlidis near Wojciech Szczęsny’s box. Forced to adjust, manager Hansi Flick swiftly introduced center-back Ronald Araújo, replacing Dani Olmo just six minutes after the red card.
Despite being outshot 26-10, Barcelona held firm, with veteran goalkeeper Szczęsny making eight crucial saves—including a last-minute stop to deny Renato Sanches.
Raphinha’s latest goal against Benfica adds to his history of decisive strikes against the Portuguese side. In their previous dramatic encounter at Estádio da Luz, the Brazilian netted a stoppage-time winner in a thrilling 5-4 comeback victory, a match marked by Pavlidis’ hat-trick and a controversial penalty decision.
With this narrow win, Barcelona take a vital advantage back to the Camp Nou for the second leg, keeping their Champions League hopes alive.
