Updated: Mar 11, 2025, 04:31 pm
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 quarterfinals with a 4-1 aggregate victory.
Barca will meet the winner of the tie between Lille and Borussia Dortmund, who play on Wednesday after the first leg in Germany ended in a 1-1 draw.
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 proving a nightmare for Benfica left back Samuel Dahl, who was powerless to stop the Spanish teenager.
Yamal teed up chances for Robert Lewandowski and Dani Olmo and missed with a low strike from the edge of the box, before he finally put the home side back in front in the 28th minute.
He cut inside and beat a disorientated Dahl before unleashing a swerving left-footed shot into keeper Anatoliy Trubin's top-right corner.
At 17 years and 241 days, Yamal became the youngest player to both score and assist in the same Champions League game, surpassing Breel Embolo's previous record with Basel against Ludogorets in 2014 by 22 days.
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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.
The 28-year-old forward became the highest scoring Brazilian in a single Champions League season, surpassing Jardel, Rivaldo, Kaka, Neymar and Roberto Firmino who held the record with 10 goals.
Barca managed the game after the break against a Benfica side that lacked both the will and firepower to pose a real threat to the Catalan giants in a second half that looked like a glorified training session.
Barca are on a 17-game unbeaten run across all competitions and are in contention for three major titles. They lead LaLiga and have reached the Copa del Rey semi-finals, where they drew 4-4 with Atletico Madrid in the first leg before the return on April 2.
"We are real candidates on all fronts," Raphinha told Movistar Plus. "We knew Benfica would come here quite strong and we knew what we had to do to win the game. We were focused on this. We had the result in our favour and we played a good first half.
"Yamal's goal is spectacular. It shows what he is. A player with tremendous quality. We have everything to win with him at our side."
