Barcelona successfully crushed Benfica with a score of 3-1 in the second leg of the 2024/2025 Champions League round of 16 held at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, Tuesday (11/3/2025).
All four goals were scored in the first half. Raphinha scored two goals and another goal was scored by Lamine Yamal. Benfica had equalized the score through Nicolas Otamendi’s header.
Thanks to this result, Barca is entitled to advance to the last 8 with an aggregate victory of 4-1 after winning 1-0 in the first leg. In the quarter-finals, Barca will meet the winner of the Lille vs Borussia Dortmund duel.
Check out the full summary of the match below.
The match had only been going on for 11 minutes, Barca had already managed to open the lead. Yamal’s fantastic individual action ended with a brilliant assist which was completed into a goal by Raphinha.
Just two minutes later, Benfica immediately managed to equalize. Andreas Schjelderup’s corner was headed by Otamendi to break through Wojciech Szczesny’s goal.
Barca took the lead again in the 27th minute. This time it was Yamal’s turn to put his name on the scoreboard with a curling shot from outside the penalty box.
Raphinha scored his second goal in the 42nd minute. Through a quick counterattack, Alejandro Balde provided an assist for Raphinha to finish into a goal. The score of 3-1 for the home team lasted until halftime.
Returning from the dressing room, Benfica managed to score a goal through Fredrik Aursnes’ action in the 50th minute. However, this goal was disallowed because Vangelis Pavlidis was offside in the process.
Meanwhile, Barca still dominated the match. However, this time the attacks of Hansi Flick’s team were not as dangerous as in the first half.
No goals were scored by either team throughout the second half. The final score of 3-1 for Barca’s victory was the final result of this match.
Pedri was named the best player in Barcelona’s 3-1 win over Benfica.
Just like in the first leg, the UEFA panel again chose Pedri as the Player of the Match. The 22-year-old midfielder once again put in a superb performance in midfield.
“(Pedri) was chosen for his all-round dominance in the midfield area and for his incredible work rate both in attack and defence. His performance, along with the excellent De Jong, was a key factor in Barcelona’s comfortable victory and a quality display of football.” was the UEFA panel’s assessment.
Pedri was recorded as the player who created the most chances, namely three times. In addition, Pedri was also the player with the most tackles in this match, namely five times.
