‘We could have won’… Bruno Lage highlights how Benfica can get the better of Barcelona tonight | OneFootball

FC Barcelona have a crucial match awaiting them as they face the Portuguese side SL Benfica in the second leg of the Round of 16 tie in the UEFA Champions League tonight.

The Blaugranes are coming into this tie with a 1-goal advantage from the first leg, but there is no doubt that this tie is still quite open, and the Portuguese side can still spring a surprise.

As Mundo Deportivo has reported, their head coach, Bruno Lage, particularly believed in his team’s ability to do such a thing, and the last two games that Benfica played against Barcelona this season gave him enough reason to hope for a better outcome in tonight’s game.

The Portuguese coach ensured that his team will have the same approach tonight as it had in the last two games:

“The approach is similar to the previous two matches against Barça, perhaps with some different nuances in the strategy. Barça likes to have possession, play in depth, seek one-on-one situations, and press… For us, the most important thing is to create opportunities—it’s decisive—but we must have the quality to capitalize on them. A comeback would give us great prestige.”

Lage believed his side could have won the last two games against Barcelona:

“We have the feeling that we could have won the previous two matches because we created many chances, and we believe we can do it now. We focus on the positives and want to build on those two previous games against a great Barça team with high-quality players—the only team that hasn’t lost in 2025.”

The Portuguese tactician also highlighted one key area where his team will have to show improvement tonight:

“I don’t think we lacked anything in those two matches, except for the goals. If we create as many chances again, we will have opportunities. We have to play our game. Is Barça’s high defensive line an opportunity or a problem? A bit of both because they defend space very well.”

While Barcelona were able to win the last two games, there is no doubt that the result could easily have gone against them in both these ties. However, it is also clear that the Catalans were able to get a positive result despite their numerical inferiority for most part of the first leg. Anyway, the game tonight promises to be a highly entertaining affair for the spectators.