Barcelona's Grit and Glory: A Stunning UCL Victory with 10 Men
Good day, everyone, and welcome to my blog. Last night was incredible in the Champions League, and I could not believe Barcelona could pull that win over Benfica with 10 men on the pitch. Last night's match between FC Barcelona and Benfica just made one thing clear to me and the rest of the world is that this season, Barcelona is going for every title, and they have a 95 per cent chance of winning them all by the end of the season. This team has proven to be relentless and hungry for any challenge that comes their way this season.
The match started strong as Benfica was looking to get on the scoresheet in the early minutes but was denied by Barcelona goalkeeper Szczesny at the goalpost. The match was going smoothly until the 26th minute of the first half when Pau Cubarsi made a tackle, which resulted in the youngster picking up a red card. At that moment, I thought, why again is Barcelona picking up a red card in the knockout stages of the UCL? This same thing happened with Ronald Araujo against PSG last season when clearly Barcelona would have won that match if Araujo had not gotten the red card.
Hansi Flick evaluated the situation and quickly removed Dani Olmo to put in Ronald Araujo to tighten the defence as it was the clear thing to do at the moment. If I am being serious, I never expected Barcelona to work out of that match with a win as I expected Benfica to pound Barcelona after that red card, and they did, but Szczesny was Barcelona's saving grace last night. Szczesny made eight saves last night against Benfica, which was wild and unexpected because, if I am being frank, Inaki Pena would have conceded goals if he was at goal last night
Pedri and Frenkie De Jong were in class last night, especially Pedri, who was top-notch as always for Barcelona. The Spanish midfielder was the heart of the midfield last night, and even with a man down, Pedri was still able to control the tempo of the match and was able to retain position. Barcelona was able to keep the position margin between them and Benfica low, which shows the extra work Pedri and Frenkie De Jong did last night. Pedri was crowned man of the match for the performance he displayed last night, although I think Szczesny should have been given the award.
Raphinha's brilliant strike in the 61st minute of the second half gave Barcelona the only goal of the match. The Brazilian has been incredible this season, and the match just boosts his chances for the Ballon d'Or this year. It is all to play for in Barcelona's home stadium for the second leg of the round of sixteen, and I am 100 per cent sure the boys will go all out and secure their place in the quarter-final of the Champions League. So, guys, that will be all for now. Thanks for stopping by, and have a good day.
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