Not much was expected from the Portuguese team even before this match, but Barcelona still secured a routine victory and booked their place in the Champions League quarter-finals.A pleasure that only Barcelona can provide. Although in the first match the Catalan club was forced to defend more than usual, with Wojciech Szczesny stepping into the spotlight, this time there was no such situation. From the start of the match, we saw perfect play from Barcelona, and a magician in action, Lamine Yamal.UCL LIVE BLOG: Yamal’s beauty and Raphinha’s brace give Barca 3-1 leadIt was already the 6th minute when Pedri launched a counter-attack after a poor play by Benfica. The ball reached Yamal, who took a shot directly at the goalkeeper, Trubin. Four minutes later, we saw another action involving the young Spaniard. He sent a good pass to Lewandowski, who found himself at the penalty spot, but his shot was weak and imprecise, allowing the goalkeeper to easily collect the ball.It wasn’t long before the first goal of the match came. Lamine Yamal executed a brilliant solo effort, using a feint to deceive two opposing players before crossing the ball to Raphinha, who was in the right place at the right time and simply tapped the ball into the net past Anatoly Trubin. You can see goal HEREUCL: Raphinha has been on fire for quite some time, tonight another gem should shineBarcelona didn’t have much time to celebrate, as Benfica equalized in the 13th minute. A corner kick was met by Lewandowski, who managed to pass it to Otamendi, and the Argentine easily headed it into the net, beating Polish goalkeeper. It’s true that Szczesny could have done better here, as the ball was heading into his corner. There is the GOALWe saw another piece of magic from the underage wizard in the 27th minute. All that’s needed to be said is that the shot was magnificent, and now it’s up to you to enjoy the replay of the GOAL.AI predicts: Yamal will win Ballon d’Or, but at Barca’s archrival!?In the 41st minute, we saw another good chance for Lewandowski. Similar to the first one, he received the ball from a distance of about the penalty spot, took a shot, but again the ball went directly into the hands of Benfica’s goalkeeper. However, Trubin couldn’t do anything a minute later when Balde beautifully set up Raphinha, who increased Barcelona’s lead to 3-1 with a shot from the left wing. With this GOAL Raphina is the player who is included in 23 goals in 22 appearances for Barcelona in UCL.Lamine Yamal is not for sale!In the second half, we barely saw any chances. Barcelona entered the second period with the goal of closing out the match, while Benfica simply wasn’t strong enough to challenge Hansi Flick’s team.The only notable opportunity came in the 66th minute when Pavlidis found himself in a promising position, but he failed to convert, leaving the Portuguese team without much to show for their efforts.In the next stage of UCL, Barcelona is waiting for the winner of duel Borussia Dortmund-Lille.UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE – ROUND OF 16Second legTuesdayBarcelona – Benfica 3-1 (3-1)/Raphinha 11, 42, Yamal 27 – Otamendi 13/23.00: (1.35) Inter Milan (4.90) Feyenoord (9.50)23.00: (3.05) Bayer Leverkusen (3.45) Bayern Munich (2.30)23.00: (2.30) Liverpool (3.60) PSG (3.20)Wednesday20.45: (2.85) Lille (3.35) Dortmund (2.65)23.00: (1.42) Arsenal (4.80) PSV (9.00)23.00: (1.62) Aston Villa (3.90) Club Brugge (5.60)23.00: (2.60) Atl. Madrid (3.50) Real Madrid (2.85)***odds are subject to change***
