Lamine Yamal was the star of the show while Raphinha maintained his superb recent form with two goals as Barcelona cruised into the quarter-finals of the Champions League with a 3-1 second-leg win over Benfica.
Barca held a 1-0 aggregate lead going into Tuesday’s second leg, and had that doubled within 10 minutes, as Raphinha finished Yamal’s cross-cum-shot at the back post. But within a minute, Benfica were level through Nicolas Otamendi, his header squirming through Wojciech Szczesny’s hands.
Yamal was not to be denied, however, and he scored a truly sensational goal to restore Barca’s lead on the night, cutting in off the right, beating his man, and floating the ball into the top corner. Raphinha then added a third before half-time, driving low into the bottom corner after Alejandro Balde’s brilliant surging run from deep.
Barca should have added a fourth after the hour, as a beautiful flowing move led to Jules Kounde crossing across the box, but Frenkie de Jong could only send the ball wide.
GOAL rates Barcelona’s players from Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys…