Raphinha strikes to provide 10-man Barcelona last-16 edge over Benfica | Champions League

Raphinha struck a second-half winner to provide Barcelona a lion-hearted 1-0 victory at Benfica on Wednesday as they overcame a purple card for Pau Cubarsí early within the sport to steal a bonus within the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie.

Barcelona’s teenage defender Cubarsí was given a straight purple card for a last-man foul on Vangelis Pavlidis within the twenty second minute, however the guests held on with goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny placing in an excellent efficiency.

The Polish veteran pulled off a string of good saves to maintain Barça within the sport and his effort was rewarded within the 61st minute when Raphinha pounced on a poor defensive move throughout the Benfica field.

He then capitalised on the error, firing a low strike that deflected off a defender earlier than stepping into simply contained in the left put up.