Raphinha returns to haunt Benfica again with long-range stunner

Raphinha has scored another goal against Benfica in a challenging first leg of the Champions League round of 16.

The Brazilian winger intercepted a poor pass given by Antonio Silva in order to unleash an unstoppable shot towards the Portuguese’s goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin.

While the Ukrainian did not have a chance to save the strike, the ball hit the bottom right corner to hand Barcelona a crucial away win at Estadio da Luz.

Raphinha’s winner comes after the Catalans were reduced to 10 men after Pau Cubarsi was sent off for taking down Vangelis Pavlidis near Wojciech Szczesny’s box.

Barcelona boss Hansi Flick was forced to make immediate changes as he substituted newcomer Dani Olmo for centre back Ronaldo Araujo just six minutes after the red card.

Expectedly, Blaugrana could not keep control of the game as they recorded only 10 shots against 26 from Benfica.

However, veteran Szczesny shone with a remarkable display as he made eight saves in total, with the last one coming in the final minutes of the game following a strike from Renato Sanches.

Now, Barcelona are given a crucial one-goal lead ahead of their home game after Raphinha fired another goal against Benfica, following January’s showdown, which ended with one of the most exceptional comebacks in the Champions League history.

During the previous game at da Luz, the Brazilian scored the fifth and last goal in the 96th minute, in a game which concluded with 5-4 on the scoresheets.

His winner came after the Catalans were initially losing by 3-1 at the end of the first half-time, following two errors by Szczesny and an own goal by Araujo.

Besides Vangelis Pavlidis’ hattrick, the clash was also remembered by some controversies as the Portuguese side protested over the non-award of a penalty kick, just moments before Raphinha’s winner.

‘(It is) impossible not to be tired after a match like this. We had an idea before the game but the red card changed the plans. We were able to stay focused,’ said the Brazilian after the final whistle.

‘With the red card I knew we were going to have few chances…. I knew that if I had a chance, I had to score. And so I did.’