Barcelona's Raphinha in action with Benfica's Antonio Silva during the Champions League Round of 16 first leg at Estadio da Luz, Lisbon
Barcelona's Raphinha in action with Benfica's Antonio Silva during the Champions League Round of 16 first leg at Estadio da Luz, Lisbon
Today at 23:29
Raphinha struck a second-half winner to give Barcelona a lion-hearted 1-0 victory at Benfica as they overcame a red card for Pau Cubarsi early in the game to steal an advantage in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.
Barcelona's teenage defender 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.