Raphinha continued his brilliance this season with Barcelona, and saved them from falling into Benfica’s trap in the 2025 Champions League.
The start of the match at the Estadio da Luz was difficult for the Catalan giants after Pau Coparsi was sent off in the 22nd minute.
Coparsi became the second youngest player in Barcelona’s history to receive a red card (18 years and 42 days) after Celestine Babaioro in 1994 (16 years and 86 days).
Due to this expulsion, Hansi Flick was forced to dispense with Dani Olmo and bring in Ronald Araujo early, while Benfica pressed hard to exploit the numerical deficit.
Perhaps the first star of the match was Szczesny, who made 8 saves, which is the most number of saves in Barcelona’s history in a single match in the Champions League.
Against the run of play, Raphinha scored Barcelona’s winning goal in the 62nd minute with a powerful low shot that crowned his recent efforts.
This was Raphinha’s 25th goal in all competitions, and his ninth in the Champions League, taking him to 40 goal contributions this season.
رافينيا يسجل هدفه الـ25 هذا الموسم مع برشلونة! ⚽️
يا له من هدف حاسم في دوري الأبطال! 🔥🇧🇷 #دوري_أبطال_أوروبا #بنفيكا #برشلونة pic.twitter.com/ZVEmTPykkz
— beIN SPORTS (@beINSPORTS) March 5, 2025
