Barcelona edged past Benfica 1-0 in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie, with Raphinha once again proving decisive.
The Brazilian forward capitalised on a defensive error in the 61st minute, slotting in his 25th goal of the season to hand the visitors the advantage.
The La Liga leaders faced an uphill battle after teenage defender Pau Cubarsi was sent off in the 22nd minute for bringing down Benfica striker Vangelis Pavlidis as the last man.
Despite being a player down, Barcelona’s defensive resilience and Wojciech Szczesny’s crucial saves kept the Portuguese side at bay.
Benfica thought they had a lifeline in the 82nd minute when Szczesny brought down Andrea Belotti in the box, but the penalty was overturned for offside in the buildup.
The Polish goalkeeper, who had a forgettable outing in January’s 5-4 thriller against Benfica, made key saves to deny Pavlidis and Renato Sanches, redeeming himself in Lisbon.
It was Barcelona’s Pedri who was everywhere on the pitch, earning himself the ‘Player of the Match’ award.
Barcelona now take a slender advantage into the second leg at Camp Nou on 11 March.
(tagsToToTranslate) Benfica Vs
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