Foot & Soccer Soccer Match Reports, Football News 
Barcelona paid a becoming tribute to former first-team physician Carles Minarro Garcia by easing previous Benfica on an emotional evening in Catalonia.
Minarro Garcia, 40, handed away shortly earlier than Saturday’s recreation towards Osasuna, prompting the match to be postponed, and the Barca gamers had been visibly moved throughout a interval of remembrance previous to kick off.
Coach Hans Flick stated yesterday the gamers would carry out for Minarro Garcia they usually definitely did that with a trendy show that marks them out as a critical contender for this 12 months’s Champions League.
Entrance and centre, as has usually been the case this season, had been Lamine Yamal and Raphinha.
The pair mixed at hand Barca a commanding 3-1 half-time lead that Benfica by no means seemed like overturning given they got here into the second leg already 1-0 down from the fixture in Lisbon final week.
Subsequent up for Barca is a quarter-final conflict towards both Lille or Borussia Dortmund.
Yamal creates opener – however did he imply it?
Yamal had already examined Benfica goalkeeper Anatolii Trubin earlier than the 17-year-old created the opener with an exquisite little bit of play.
He burst via the Benfica defence on the correct fringe of the world earlier than his sliced shot – or was it a cross? – was good for Raphinha to volley in on the again put up.
The lead lasted for simply two minutes as Benfica hit again from their first critical assault.
Andreas Schjelderup’s left-wing nook was inadvertently flicked on by Robert Lewandowski and Nicolas Otamendi reacted effectively to energy a header previous Wojciech Szczesny.
The objective meant former Manchester Metropolis defender Otamendi grew to become the third oldest participant to attain in a Champions League knockout recreation behind Edin Dzeko and Ryan Giggs.
He swiftly returned to the day job of making an attempt to maintain Barca at bay, though it was changing into an more and more troublesome process as the house aspect swarmed ahead.
Dani Olmo volleyed huge earlier than Yamal’s long-range effort had Trubin scrambling throughout his line.
Step ahead {the teenager}
Yamal’s subsequent intervention was beautiful.
The Spain worldwide lower in from the correct, skipping previous Florentino and Samuel Dahl and, though the ball appeared barely behind him, he by some means wrapped his left foot round it to bend a pin-point shot into the highest left-hand nook.
“The prince is just not far off changing into the king spherical this place” 👑
Lamine Yamal’s produces an exquisite roller to make it 3-1 on combination to Barcelona 🤩
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— Soccer on TNT Sports activities (@footballontnt) March 11, 2025
At 3-1 down on combination it was wanting a great distance again for the Portuguese aspect they usually briefly wilted.
Trubin saved effectively from Lewandowski 4 minutes earlier than half-time however the Ukrainian goalkeeper was powerless to forestall Barca from rising their benefit additional 60 seconds later.
Alejandro Balde performed in Raphinha and the Brazil ahead made no mistake with a crisp end for his eleventh Champions League objective of one other vastly spectacular season.
Barca ease via second half to march on
Fredrik Aursnes had a objective disallowed for offside initially of the second half and with that Benfica’s possibilities of a comeback evaporated.
With the guests accepting of their destiny and Barca in no temper to twist the knife, the second half was quite a bit quieter than the primary.
There was nonetheless the odd spotlight, one good Barca transfer involving Frenkie De Jong, Raphinha, Jules Kounde and Yamal nearly leading to a faucet in for Netherlands midfielder De Jong.
Fantastic soccer from Barcelona finally ends up with Frenkie de Jong failing to transform from shut vary 😯
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— Soccer on TNT Sports activities (@footballontnt) March 11, 2025
A raft of late substitutions, together with the departure of Yamal to a standing ovation, disrupted the movement of the sport however Barca’s supremacy was by no means threatened.
