Benfica left to rue missed chances as Raphinha's brilliant individual goal gives Barcelona early advantage | OneFootball

Benfica have only themselves to blame after missing a glorious opportunity to take a lead back to Spain for the second leg. The Eagles huffed and puffed but were unable to break down a resilient 10-man Barcelona team. Bruno Lage's side missed countless clear cut chances. Barcelona, who played 70 minutes with 10 men, were uninspiring on the night, but an excellent piece of individual play from Raphinha was enough to give the Catalan side a vital 1-0 lead heading into the second leg of this European Champions League tie.

Benfica finished with more than twice as many total shots as their opponents but were unable to get on the scoresheet. Barcelona are known for their flowing and attacking style of play, but this was a masterclass in game management. An efficient and hard working display that achieved their ultimate goal. The visitors were well organised and their back back four did well to frustrate Benfica's front three. Veteran keeper Wojciech Szczesny pulled of some quality saves late in the game to ensures the visitor were able to escape with an advantage.

Sahir Bhojwani reports from the Estádio da Luz.

Flowing opening 20 minutes

As the rain poured down at the Estadio da Luz, players and fans seemed unfazed. An open and entertaining first half was packed with chances and both clubs came out looking to score. Benfica almost broke the deadlock within the first minute when the ball fell to Kerem Aktürkoğlu who forced a great save out of Szczesny to earn a corner. That seemed to wake up the Spanish giants who responded with an attempt of their own in the third minute, with Dani Olmo recording Barcelona’s first shot on target.

Following some flowing back and forth football, Barcelona started to control possession, as they are known to do. The best chance of the first half fell to Robert Lewandowski, who somehow missed two glorious chances from inside the six yard box, firing straight at Anatoliy Trubin.

Pau Cubarsí sees red

The match seemed finely balanced when a careless moment from Barcelona’ Pau swung the momentum in Benfica’s favor. A smart turn from Pavilidis provided the Greek striker with a one-on-one opportunity on goal. Pau had no choice but to challenge the forward. A reckless lunge saw the 18-year-old sent off for preventing a clean goalscoring opportunity.

Raphinha scores against the run of play

The beginning of the second half saw Benfica take the initiative. Bruno Lage's side came out firing, peppering the Bacelona goal with shot after shot. Hansi Flick's side were able to withstand the pressure with some organized defending from their back four.

Benfica seemed to hold all the cards, when a lapse in judgement from central defender Antonio Silva cost the home side. Silva's misplaced pass was the stuff of nightmares. The young defender had produced a solid performance until that moment. His 61st minute crossfield pass fell straight to Raphinha, who found an opening in the middle of the pitch and launched a perfectly placed low shot that beat Trubin. The goal came completely against the run of play, and turned out to be Barcelona's only shot on target in the second half.

Benfica wasteful on the night

The opportunities kept coming for the Eagles as the home side pushed for a late equaliser. Fredrik Aursnes, Vangelis Pavlidis, Andreas Schjelderup, Renato Sanchez and João Rêgo all had chances late in the match. Belotti even had a shout for a penalty, only fo it to be called back for an offside.

In the end, Benfica have only themselves to blame. The home side played the majority of the match with an extra man on the pitch. They finished with 26 total shots (eight on target), significantly more than the 10 shots their opponents recorded.

Barcelona will be delighted to take a one goal lead back to Spain, especially considering the early red card. Benfica will reflect on a missed opportunity and will have to regroup before the second leg in Barcelona next week.

Lineups:

Benfica: Anatoliy Trubin, António Silva, Nicolás Otamendi, Tomás Araújo (Samuel Dahl, 57'), Álvaro Carreras, Orkun Kökçü (Renato Sanches, 84'), Fredrik Aursnes, Leandro Barreiro (João Rego, 70'), Vangelis Pavlidis (Arthur Cabral, 84'), Kerem Aktürkoğlu, Andreas Schjelderup (Andrea Belotti, 70')

Barcelona: Wojciech Szczesny, Jules Koundé, Pau Cubarsí, Iñigo Martínez, Álex Baldé, Dani Olmo (Ronald Araújo, 28'), Pedri González, Frenkie de Jong (Gerard Martín, 79'), Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski (Marc Casadó, 79'), Lamine Yamal (Ferrán Torres, 56')