Barcelona Battles to a Gritty 1-0 Win Over Benfica Despite Early Red Card

By: Oluwapelumi Ogunleye

Barcelona secured a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Benfica in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie at Estádio da Luz. Despite being reduced to ten men early on, the Catalan side displayed resilience to claim the win.

The match took a challenging turn for Barcelona in the 22nd minute when teenage defender Pau Cubarsí was sent off for a foul as the last man, leaving his team to play over an hour with a numerical disadvantage.

Goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny delivered a stellar performance, making crucial saves to keep Barcelona in the game.

The breakthrough came in the 61st minute when Raphinha capitalized on a defensive error by Benfica, intercepting a poor pass and scoring with a deflected low strike inside the left post.

This tenacious performance gives Barcelona a lead to carry into the second leg, which will be played at Montjuïc next Tuesday at 6:45 PM CET.