Yamal, Raphinha dazzle as Barca reach UCL last-8
Written by I Dig Sports
Raphinha scored twice and Lamine Yamal netted a stunning strike as a superb Barcelona dismantled Benfica 3-1 in the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie on Tuesday, advancing to the quarter-finals with a 4-1 aggregate victory.
It was an inspired evening for teenager Yamal who was virtually unplayable running up and down the right channel, creating most of Barca's scoring chances.
The 17-year-old Spain winger worked his magic with a spectacular solo run to gift Raphinha the opener in the 11th minute, leaving two opponents on the ground before crossing for the Brazil forward to poke the ball into the net with a close-range volley.
Benfica hit back through a Nicolas Otamendi header from a corner two minutes later, but Barca kept piling on the pressure with Yamal putting the home side back in front in the 28th minute with a swerving left-footed shot into keeper Anatoliy Trubin's top-right corner.
Raphinha extended Barca's lead from a quick counter-attack in the 42nd minute to go top of the Champions League scoring chart this season with 11 goals.