Raphinha earns 10-man Barcelona 1-0 win at Benfica
Raphinha struck a second-half winner to give Barcelona a 1-0 victory at Benfica on Wednesday in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.
Barcelona’s teenage defender Pau Cubarsi was given a straight red card for a last-man foul on Vangelis Pavlidis in the 22nd minute.
But the visitors hung on with goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny putting in a brilliant performance.
The Polish veteran pulled off a string of brilliant saves to keep Barca in the game and his effort was rewarded in the 61st minute when Raphinha pounced on a poor defensive pass across the Benfica box.
He then capitalised on the mistake, firing a low strike that deflected off a defender before going in just inside the left post.
The star of the show, however, was Szczesny, who came out of retirement to play for Barca after Germany international Marc-Andre ter Stegen sustained a torn knee ligament in September.
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“Szczesny saved us many times today, he is outstanding,” Barcelona midfielder Pedri told Spanish TV station Movistar Plus.
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