By Olaitan Ibrahim
Barcelona roared into the Champions League quarter-finals with a commanding 3-1 victory over Benfica on Tuesday, sealing a 4-1 aggregate triumph in front of a jubilant Camp Nou crowd.
Raphinha stole the show with a stunning brace, while teenage sensation Lamine Yamal dazzled with a breathtaking goal to sink the Portuguese giants.
The night began with an early warning sign from Robert Lewandowski, whose scuffed shot was comfortably saved by Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin.
But Barcelona needed just 11 minutes to find their breakthrough. Lamine Yamal, weaving his magic down the flank, teed up Raphinha inside the box, and the Brazilian calmly slotted home to ignite celebrations.
Benfica, however, refused to go down without a fight. Just two minutes later, Nicolas Otamendi rose above the defence to power home a bullet header from an Andreas Schjelderup corner, silencing the Camp Nou faithful and drawing the score level at 1-1.
Barcelona, undeterred, pressed forward relentlessly. Yamal came agonisingly close in the 24th minute with a ferocious strike that whistled past the post.
But the 16-year-old would not be denied for long. In the 27th minute, he produced a moment of pure brilliance, unleashing a stunning long-range effort that crashed into the net via the left post, restoring Barcelona’s lead in spectacular fashion.
The hosts nearly added another before the break, with Lewandowski testing Trubin again. Then, in the 42nd minute, Raphinha struck once more, drilling a low shot into the bottom corner to make it 3-1.
A brief pause followed as referee Francois Letexier consulted VAR for a possible offside in the build-up, but after a tense review, the goal was given, sending Camp Nou into a frenzy.
Benfica’s faint hopes of a comeback were extinguished early in the second half when Fredrik Aursnes thought he had pulled one back, only for his goal to be ruled out for offside.
The visitors continued to push, with Vangelis Pavlidis and Zeki Amdouni both going close, but Barcelona’s defence held firm to secure a dominant victory.