Flamengo are interested in signing Joao Felix from Chelsea this summer and plan to launch a loan bid for the Portugal international Nicolás Otamendi scored for Benfica in their 2-1 away victory over Estoril on matchday 32 of the Primeira Liga With Benfica leading by one in the 35th minute Argentine center back Nicolás Otamendi received a cross from a free kick on the right side of the field and headed it in to make it 2-0 for his team Benfica remain top of the league with two matches left to play holding a three-point lead over second-place Sporting who are close behind having played one game less How to watch the Portuguese Primeira Liga: live stream, fixture and standings. Only few months remained for the young CBs who need to step up as Ota is not showing any sign of aging neither is he slowinng down yet As Romero has cemented his place already,thier chemistry will likely be there in the upcoming WC too Perez and an injury prone Lisandro Martinez Foyth’s resurrection would the the only plus so far Mundo Albiceleste is your home for all the latest news about the Argentina National Football team in English It was revealed late last month that Madrid had identified Carreras as a summer transfer target although his asking price of €60m (£51.1m) was thought to be too high for the Spanish side to pursue a deal A twist in the tale came earlier this month when it was claimed Madrid could try and sign Carreras through an agreement with Manchester United who have a buy-back clause on their former academy gem worth around €18m (£15.4m) It is suggested Madrid are looking to convince United to re-sign Carreras and immediately sell him to them for around €35m (£25.6m) helping Madrid save money and offering cash-strapped United the chance to make a quick £10m Lage was quizzed on Carreras' future during a press conference in which he confirmed two of Spain's top sides are starting to circle Carreras was a flop and today Real Madrid and Atletico are interested," Lage explained "I would go as far as to say that he is the player we use most he is important to our dynamics and I am very happy to have him "I only say he was a flop because that's what I read." With any deal for Carreras looking complicated, Spanish outlet Relevo state Madrid are drawing up a long list of targets and have once again taken an interest in re-signing Miguel Gutierrez from Girona who made ten appearances for Madrid's first team before leaving in 2022 is available for a buy-back clause of just €8m (£6.8m) © 2025 Minute Media - All Rights Reserved The content on this site is for entertainment and educational purposes only Betting and gambling content is intended for individuals 21+ and is based on individual commentators' opinions and not that of Minute Media or its affiliates and related brands All picks and predictions are suggestions only and not a guarantee of success or profit If you or someone you know has a gambling problem crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER The young defender has been compared to Virgil van Dijk he'll have to become Benfica's next star first Just look at the names that have emerged from Benfica Even narrowing it down to players from the last few years there are some of football's biggest names and Goncalo Ramos left for colossal transfer fees who immediately showed he's one of the best defenders in the world Angel Di Maria is a former Os Encarnados star you have to break through at Benfica before you emerge from Benfica Some of the best prospects in the world arrive in Lisbon with big dreams of someday breaking through American defender Josh Wynder is one of those prospects and he's inching closer to that first-team breakthrough Wynder has generally taken the patient road working his way up through the club's youth system The former Louisville City defender recently got a taste of the first-team in a cup game and American fans will be watching on eagerly hoping that that taste can soon turn into a chance for Wynder to show why he might just be one of the next big prospects to impress with one of the world's best talent developing clubs GOAL takes a look at Wynder as he nears a potential leap forward for club and country Real Madrid is pursuing a strategic reinforcement at left back, setting its sights 22-year-old Benfica left-back Alvaro Carreras. Carreras developed as a player in Real Madrid’s Academy and he left the club in 2020 in search of regular first-team football. After a short stint at Manchester United and a successful transition to Benfica in 2022 his performances in both domestic and European competition have reignited interest in his return Benfica is reportedly demanding €60 million for the defender—an asking price Madrid are not willing to meet the club is exploring an alternative route involving Manchester United who hold a buy-back clause valued around €18 million United would bring Carreras back and then transfer him to Madrid for a fee in the €30–35 million range giving the English club a profit while reducing Madrid’s spending The move reflects Madrid’s weakness at the left-back spot particularly over the durability of current starter Ferland Mendy the club views Carreras as a cost-effective addition who could succeed at the Bernabeu 2025) – Portland Thorns FC announced today that it has signed Canadian international forward Marie-Yasmine “Mimi” Alidou via transfer from Portuguese giant S.L The deal was made prior to the closing of the primary transfer window and will see Alidou signed on with the Thorns through 2026 with a club option for 2027 arrives in Portland after an impressive two-year stint abroad with Benfica she led the team in scoring across all competitions with 26 goals (and assisted 3) on the path to winning all four domestic competitions that season as well as cementing Benfica as the first Portuguese side to reach the quarterfinals of the UEFA Women’s Champions League Alidou tallied 33 goals and 7 assists in 72 matches and 4,617 minutes played Her first season in Portugal with Famalicão (2022-23) saw her score 12 times and assist 4 across all competitions helping the club lift its first Taça de Portugal Femenina trophy Additional European clubs she fielded for include Sturm Graz (Austria; 2022) Sporting Huelva (Spain; 2019-20) and Linköpings FC (2018) Alidou got her professional start in France with the historic Olympique de Marseille organization Alidou arrives in Portland with international experience as a member of the Canada Women’s National Team where she shared the field with current Thorn Jessie Fleming Alidou has started 5 matches and scored 5 goals Her most notable moment with Canada came in the form of her first international hat-trick in a dominant 7-0 victory against Chinese Taipei in the 2025 Pinatar Cup this past February The Thorns’ 2025 roster as it stands can be found below by position Players on the season-ending injury list or on maternity leave do not hold an active roster spot for the 2025 season Morgan MessnerDefenders (7): Daiane (INTL) Nicole Payne (SEI)Midfielders (7): Carissa Boeckmann Hina Sugita (INTL); Olivia Wade-Katoa (SEI Reilyn Turner; Sophia Wilson (ML) Morgan Weaver (SEI) The Thorns are scheduled to host North Carolina Courage this Saturday March 29 with kickoff at Providence Park scheduled for 7 pm PT on ION Fans interested in purchasing Thorns FC Annual Memberships for the 2025 season, as well as individual match tickets, are encouraged to call the ticket office at 503.509.5555, email members@thorns.com or visit thorns.com/tickets for more information.For Media Inquiries please contact:Alberto HuichapaCommunications Managerahuichapa@thorns.com Fans interested in purchasing Thorns FC Annual Memberships for the 2025 season, as well as individual match tickets, are encouraged to call the ticket office at 503.509.5555, email members@thorns.com or visit thorns.com/tickets for more information.For Media Inquiries, please contact:Alberto HuichapaCommunications Managerahuichapa@thorns.com Raphinha struck a second-half winner to give Barcelona a lion-hearted 1-0 victory at Benfica on Wednesday as they overcame a red card for Pau Cubarsi early in the game to steal an advantage in the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie Barcelona's teenage defender Cubarsi was given a straight red card for a last-man foul on Vangelis Pavlidis in the 22nd minute, but the visitors hung on with goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny putting in a brilliant performance The Polish veteran pulled off a string of brilliant saves to keep Barça in the game and his effort was rewarded in the 61st minute when Raphinha pounced on a poor defensive pass across the Benfica box firing a low strike that deflected off a defender before going in just inside the left post The star of the show, however, was Szczesny, who came out of retirement to play for Barca after Germany international Marc-André ter Stegen sustained a torn knee ligament in September "Szczesny saved us many times today, he is outstanding," Barcelona midfielder Pedri told Spanish TV station Movistar Plus "You have to give a lot of credit for the team's effort after going a man down so early in the game On other days it was harder for us but today we hung on and defended really well." Szczesny's brilliant night started 30 seconds after kickoff, when Pavlidis recovered the ball and fed Kerem Aktürkoglu inside the box and he fired a low strike that the 34-year-old keeper kept out with a one-handed save The Polish keeper ended up making eight saves five of those in the second half when Benfica piled on the pressure with over 60% of possession and 15 goal attempts with Raphinha netting with their only shot on target in the second half Szczesny's magic included a stunning reflex save to deny Fredrik Aursnes from close range early on after the break and an excellent stop to palm away Renato Sanches's bullet strike from the edge of the box four minutes into added time It's a very disappointing result," Aursnes told Benfica TV but unfortunately we didn't manage to score and paid a heavy price for that..." Barcelona's teenage defender Cubarsi was given a straight red card for a last-man foul on Vangelis Pavlidis in the 22nd minute, but the visitors hung on with goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny putting in a brilliant performance The star of the show, however, was Szczesny, who came out of retirement to play for Barca after Germany international Marc-André ter Stegen sustained a torn knee ligament in September \"Szczesny saved us many times today, he is outstanding,\" Barcelona midfielder Pedri told Spanish TV station Movistar Plus \"You have to give a lot of credit for the team's effort after going a man down so early in the game On other days it was harder for us but today we hung on and defended really well.\" Szczesny's brilliant night started 30 seconds after kickoff, when Pavlidis recovered the ball and fed Kerem Aktürkoglu inside the box and he fired a low strike that the 34-year-old keeper kept out with a one-handed save Szczesny's magic included a stunning reflex save to deny Fredrik Aursnes from close range early on after the break and an excellent stop to palm away Renato Sanches's bullet strike from the edge of the box four minutes into added time It's a very disappointing result,\" Aursnes told Benfica TV but unfortunately we didn't manage to score and paid a heavy price for that...\" ShareSaveCommentBusiness SportsMoneyS.L. Benfica Brings Famed Academy Model To U.S. In Search Of TalentByRobert Kidd Forbes contributors publish independent expert analyses and insights Robert Kidd covers the world's most popular sport – soccer (football).Follow AuthorMar 26 one of Portugal's biggest clubs with a reputation for producing excellent players More set to open the Benfica Residential Academy in Florida The “world’s best” soccer academy is coming to the United States Portuguese giant Sport Lisboa e Benfica is set to open the Benfica Residential Academy (Benfica RA) this summer at Saint Leo University in Tampa The launch is the latest step in the club’s mission to nurture soccer talent worldwide to Paris Saint-Germain’s João Neves — in the past 10 years the club president and one of the greatest Portuguese players ever the academy is central to Benfica’s identity “The Benfica Campus has a strategic importance in establishing Sport Lisboa e Benfica both in sporting terms and in its immense international reach,” he says “It is in our ‘Factory of Talents’ that we instill and develop the values and principles of the ‘Benfica way of playing,’ shaping some of the best athletes and professionals in the world — both in terms of competition and in their human and social development.” But the reputation as a talent factory for some of Europe’s most sought-after players has only emerged in the past two decades a little bit like the model of Real Madrid We were a club to be ready to win,” Bernardo Carvalho Benfica’s international expansion chief executive That changed in 2006 when Benfica built its flagship academy in Lisbon Five training centers across Portugal followed Joao Cancelo and Ruben Dias are all graduates of the Benfica Academy The success in Portugal has led to international expansion A Benfica Academy in the Ivory Coast opened six months ago with a similar agreement in the pipeline in Burkina Faso There are technical partnerships in countries including Brazil 16,000 young players in more than 20 countries experienced Benfica’s training methodology “Instead of a constellation of clubs — so we’re not going to invest in a club in Australia or Japan — we decided to do a constellation of academies all over the world where talent is,” Carvalho says “What we are creating is a natural pathway not only in Portugal “A kid at 18 years old can end up in the Benfica Academy With 25 million registered players — 13 million boys and 12 million girls — in the U.S. Benfica sees a big opportunity to develop talent “America is the number one strategic country where we want to be I think it’s the country that’s going to grow more in terms of football,” Carvalho says Benfica RA in Florida will offer two pathways for boys and girls in grades 9-12: one leading to professional soccer and another providing a direct route to top colleges through sporting scholarships Benfica plan for up to 500 student-athletes to be training at the academy which will use the university’s six soccer fields “We want our competition teams to very soon become the best teams that will be playing in America,” Carvalho says Benfica RA will be part of the 297-acre Saint Leo University campus More (some built specifically for the academy) general director of Benfica Campus in Lisbon says there is no one secret to explain Benfica’s consistent production line of talent “But there are some things that help — it doesn’t happen by chance that’s for sure,” he tells me in an interview The club’s unique approach keeps players out of official competitions until age 12 where coaches do not intervene and points are awarded for dribbling and creative passing And it’s a huge difference we see in their development,” Müller says using a variety of balls including soccer balls tennis balls and foam balls to develop creativity and control “What we’re finding is that many of these kids Benfica also attempts to recreate the spontaneous street soccer experience through exercises including obstacle courses “The kids of today are not the kids of yesterday,” Müller says “These kids don’t go to play football in the street they don’t grab apples from the neighbor’s tree “We try to recreate the streets inside the practice.” nutritionists and psychologists closely monitoring players The approach has been incorporated in a digital tool “Training Benfica Style” It allows coaches from Portugal to the U.S came through the Benfica Academy before being .. Müller says 80% of academy players who sign their first professional contract with Benfica will go on to have professional careers But he recognizes not every player will make it that far “It’s very important for us that they become very good players,” Müller says “But it’s also very important that they become good Like other big clubs in Europe Benfica focuses on developing the person as well as the player The club works with local schools and offers homeschooling options to ensure education is a priority “We know that the compatibility in this dual career between school and sport is tough So it’s our responsibility to provide this support,” Müller says The academy also has players participate in community service programs such as working with disadvantaged children elderly associations and distributing food and toys in Lisbon the number of kids interested in sport is lower even their motor abilities are changing with these times,” Müller says So we need to be prepared to also look in different pools.” Carvalho suggests Benfica could eventually open three academies in the country He also sees an opportunity for international commercial growth 60% of Benfica’s merchandise sales come from outside Portugal Playing in the Club World Cup this summer should only boost Benfica’s global profile is clear: find the next generation of stars and we want to be where it is,” Carvalho says “I want the next (Christian) Pulisic to come out of a Benfica soccer school I say Benfica is now the Harvard of football An academy is a university for footballers Real Madrid and Atlético Battle for Benfica’s Rising Star: Álvaro CarrerasYoung left-back Álvaro Carreras has emerged as one of the hottest prospects on the transfer market after an outstanding season with Benfica His performances have not only won over the Lisbon faithful but have also caught the attention of European giants Real Madrid and Atlético de Madrid as confirmed by Benfica manager Bruno Lage In a press conference ahead of their match against Estoril Praia the coach praised the Galician defender’s progress since arriving at the club: “When I got here Real Madrid and Atlético are after him,” he stated Lage also underlined the player's importance: “He’s a key player for us Álvaro Carreras has accumulated 4,092 minutes across all competitions this season making him the most-used player in the squad His ability to dominate the left flank with pace and defensive strength has cemented his spot as an undisputed starter Carreras also played for Granada before being signed by Manchester United and all signs point to a high-profile move back to Spain Both Madrid clubs are expected to fight fiercely for his signature Real Madrid are looking to rejuvenate their left side with young talent while Atlético aim to bolster their defense with a modern the Rojiblancos are fully committed to the race tied at the top of the Portuguese League with Sporting (both on 75 points) who is not only fighting for the league title but also preparing for what could be the next big leap in his career Benfica beat Estoril 2-1 tonight to go three points clear of Sporting at the top the table before their title rivals play tomorrow The Eagles looked set for a straightforward victory after going into the break two-nil up thanks to goals from Fredrik Aursnes and captain Nicolás Otamendi Estoril came out fighting in the second half The hosts missed a glorious chance to halve the deficit when Yanis Begrauoui’s penalty was saved by Anatoliy Trubin but the home team did score in the 78th minute through a Vinícius Zanocelo header to set up a nervy ending for Benfica and will go into next weekend’s crunch derby against Sporting – the penultimate game of the season – at worst level on points with their Lisbon neighbours Tom Kundert & Sahir Bhojwani report from the Estádio António Coimbra da Mota. but that was as good as it got for the home team in the opening 45 minutes Play switched to the other end of the pitch and Fredrik Aursnes was denied by Estoril goalkeeper Joel Robles when clean through The Norwegian made no mistake with a similar chance soon afterwards as he converted Orkun Kökçü’s pass to give Benfica the lead in the 7th minute to finish off a flowing move involving Otamendi Benfica were in control with the omnipresent Florentino Luís effectively cutting out Estoril’s attempts to create danger Benfica’s lead was doubled on 35 minutes when captain Nicolás Otamendi headed in a well delivered free kick by Samuel Dahl Benfica were clearly conserving energy with next week’s Lisbon derby no doubt on the minds of the players and coaching staff but Trubin had been little more than a spectator until midway through the second half Moroccan striker Yanis Begraoui was brought down by Otamendi on the edge of the box and the referee immediately whistled for a penalty but his poorly hit spot kick was saved by Trubin with Vinícius Zanocelo smashing the rebound onto the bar from point-blank range The Brazilian midfielder sank to his knees but he made up for it in the 78th minute when he leapt impressively to head Rafik Guitane’s cross past Trubin and make the score 2-1 The Estoril goal was the culmination of a period of pressure from the home team Alejandro Marqués and Rafik Guitane all providing zest and energy for the Canarinhos Benfica’s players and especially their coaching staff were getting increasingly nervous (assistant coach Ricardo Rocha receiving a red card for overzealous protests) as Estoril strung some neat moves together albeit without managing to fashion a clear chance including the eight minutes of stoppage time with solid defending to make it 12 wins in 13 games in the Primeira Liga Fredrik Aursnes’ best position has been debated by pundits across the nation but one aspect of his game that cannot be questioned is his tireless work rate The versatile utility man was used predominantly on the right side of the midfield but was spotted covering every corner of the pitch The Norwegian was outstanding on the night He aided his defence when required and his cutting runs caused problems for Estoril’s back three throughout the match He was rewarded for his hard work with a well worked goal in the first half that set Benfica on their way The atmosphere was electric at the Estádio António Coimbra da Mota The Benfiquistas brought with them a vocal and passionate group and Estoril’s supporters matched them every step on the way and with plenty of supporters packing into the ground (and some watching from the adjacent high-rise buildings) this had to be one of the best atmospheres at Estroil this season Ian Cathro has elevated Estoril into the top half of the table with an exciting brand of attacking football The Scottish manager has to be applauded for his bold tactics but his approach can sometimes leave his defence susceptible on the counter This turned out to be one of those occasions with Benfica opening up Estoril’s defence and breaking through with a well worked goal in the 7th minute having already sliced through the home team’s back line with alarming ease With time winding down and Benfica holding on to a slender 2-1 lead Bruno Lage turned to his bench and once again called on Belotti at a critical stage of the game The decision would have been a major blow for Arthur Cabral There were high expectations for Cabral when the Eagles brought him in as a replacement for Gonçalo Ramos in 2023 The club shelled out an exorbitant fee in excess of 20 million euros to sign him from Fiorentina but he has gradually drifted into oblivion this season Cabral has started just two league games and managed just two league goals With Pavlidis and Belotti firmly established as the No it will be interesting to see what role Cabral will play next season FC Barcelona face Benfica in what promise to be a fascinating pair of encounters in the Champions League last sixteen Here are the essentials on the eagles of Lisbon needs no introduction with its historic charm and rich maritime heritage overlooking the Tagus River with iconic landmarks like the Belém Tower Sport Lisboa e Benfica has a strong claim to be the biggest in the world they are the most successful club in Portuguese football history and there have only been two seasons in the history of the competition when one of that trio has not been champion Benfica are ranked by UEFA as the eighth most successful club in European football history They won back-to-back European Cups in 1961 and 1962 That was the eagles' golden era with the great Eusebio as the main star and although they have returned to the final five times since they are still waiting for their third title or 'Stadium of Light' as we like to call it in English is one of the most iconic venues in world football although the original 120,000 seat structure no longer exists having been replaced in 2003 by the new 64,642 stadium a year before it hosted the Euro 04 Final that was so unexpectedly won by Greece It has also hosted two Champions League Finals including the one behind closed doors due to Covid in 2020 The latter was also the season it hosted a game that Barça fans would all much rather forget And it also to be one of the venues for the 2030 World Cup This is even more of a crunch match for the home side Benfica are right in the middle of the Champions League table right now they'd still be in with a chance of claiming one of the top eight spots But a defeat would have the opposite effect and they would be in danger of not making the knockout stage at all And the fact that their final game is away to Juventus doesn't help LEAGUE PHASERed Star Belgrade 1-2 BenficaBenfica 4–0 Atlético MadridBenfica 1–3 FeyenoordBayern Munich 1–0 BenficaMonaco 2–3 BenficaBenfica 0-0 BolognaBenfica 4-5 FC BarcelonaJuventus 0-2 Benfica PLAYOFFSMonaco 0-1 BenficaBenfica 3-3 MonacoBenfica won 4-3 on aggregate Highlights of Benfica's League Phase were the 4-0 drubbing of Atlético Madrid and the late comeback to win in Monaco but following the extraordinary 5-4 loss at home to Barça they were in trouble of not even making the knockout stage They achieved that with an impressive 2-0 win at Juventus on the final day and then met Monaco again in the playoffs eventually winning a dramatic encounter 4-3 on aggregate Benfica had a nasty run of three defeats in four games around New Year that built up a gap between them and leaders Sporting their city rivals have since suffered a blip of their own and they are now matched on 53 points with Porto just three behind on 50.knocked off the top spot when they lost to local rivals Sporting in the derby and they followed that by losing at home to Braga meaning they are now three points adrift of the lead They are also through to the semi-finals of the Portuguese Cup where they are set to meet fourth tier Tirsense who have made all the way to the last four amazingly without ever having to play any teams from the top two tiers of the national pyramid 1960-61 European Cup Final in BernBenfica 3-2 Barça 1991-91 European Cup Group StageBenfica 0-0 BarçaBarça 2-1 BenficaBarça topped the group and went on to win the trophy 2005-06 Champions League Group StageBenfica 0-0 BarçaBarça 2-0 BenficaBarça again went on to win the trophy 2012-13 Champions League Group StageBenfica 1-2 BarçaBarça 0-0 BenficaBarça qualified but lost in the semi finals 2021-22 Champions League Group StageBenfica 3-0 BarçaBarça 0-0 BenficaBarça failed to advance from the group 2024-25 Champions League League StageBenfica 4-5 Barça This is the sixth time the teams have met in Europe, always in the premier competition, with a mixed bag of results that awful night when the woodwork stood in the way of the Catalans' first ever European Cup title But the next two times Barça played Benfica in 1992 under Johan Cruyff and 2006 under Frank Rijkaard There were painful memories three years ago when Barça were soundly beaten in Lisbon and were then held 0-0 at Camp Nou meaning that they failed to advance and dropped instead into the Europa League the teams also met in the League Phase of this season's edition and what a remarkable match that one turned out to be Benfica were leading 4-2 with just 12 minutes to go before goals from Robert Lewandowski Eric garcía and Raphinha produced an amazing late turnaround and the game ended 5-4 Benfica most capped playersÁngel Di María (Argentina 145) Top scorers (all competitions)Vangelis Pavlidis (18) After Roger Schmidt was sacked at the start of the season somebody who never played the game at a high level and instead concentrated on a career in coaching that saw him rise through the Benfica ranks to eventually become manager in 2019 There were highs and lows before he eventually resigned after which he coached Wolves in England for two years and then Botafogo in Brazil He was eventually relieved of his duties at both clubs before being offered a second opportunity in the Benfica hotseat Start TimeData SkriveVangelis Pavlidis (second in the Primeira Liga with 18 goals) and Alejandro Marques (fifth with 10 goals) meet when Benfica visit Estoril Praia on May 3 2025 at Estadio Antonio Coimbra da Mota beginning at 3:30 PM ET Benfica picked up the victory in its last contest 6-0 over Avs Futebol Sad at home on April 27 Estoril Praia earned a 3-1 road win over Casa Pia Lisbon in its most recent match on April 29 while outshooting Casa Pia Lisbon 11 to eight Get ready for this matchup with what you need to know about Saturday's soccer action Watch soccer on Fubo! The young defender has been compared to Virgil van Dijk, but to get anywhere near that level, he'll have to become Benfica's next star first Just look at the names that have emerged from Benfica. Even narrowing it down to players from the last few years, there are some of football's biggest names. Enzo Fernandez, Darwin Nunez, and Goncalo Ramos left for colossal transfer fees. So, too, did Ruben Dias, who immediately showed he's one of the best defenders in the world. Go back just a little bit further, and you find Joao Felix and Ederson. Angel Di Maria is a former Os Encarnados star, too. The thing is, though, you have to break through at Benfica before you emerge from Benfica. And that's no easy task. Some of the best prospects in the world arrive in Lisbon with big dreams of someday breaking through. GOAL takes a look at Wynder as he nears a potential leap forward for club and country. 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 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 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 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 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 had the result in our favour and we played a good first half We have everything to win with him at our side." 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 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 \"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 have everything to win with him at our side.\" Benfica was a 'brilliant' result for Flick (1:04)Craig Burley praises Barcelona after their 1-0 win against Benfica in the Champions League Miñarro, 53, died on Saturday, shortly before Barça's LaLiga game against Osasuna at the Olympic Stadium which led to the postponement of the fixture Barça play their first game since his passing on Tuesday, when they host Benfica in the return match of their round-of-16 tie with a 1-0 lead from the first leg "It's a huge loss," Flick said in a news conference on Monday "Carles was a really great person and a great doctor The combination of him and [doctor] Ricard [Pruna] was unbelievable for the club and a big part of the team's success It's now in the situation very important that we win after working primarily with the club's futsal team joined the first team last summer when Flick was appointed as coach Club president Joan Laporta said his passing had left the club "in a state of shock," with several players working especially closely with him In Dani Olmo's case, he had known Miñarro for years due to the fact he had been his personal doctor since 2016 having also worked with the Spain international's dad "Why Doc?" Miguel, a former player and coach, posted on X "We have shared some of my best experiences in the game You have not only been my doctor since 2009 but also Dani's and other family members' and friends' You improved the quality of life of my parents (infinite thanks) "You loved your job and I know how much it had cost you to get to the top but more than anything I will miss my friend who was part of the family we created around Dani Olmo is expected to be part of the Barça team that face Benfica on Tuesday A goal from Raphinha in Lisbon last week sealed a 1-0 win for the Blaugrana, who played most of the game with 10 players after Pau Cubarsí was sent off but Flick insists his team will not take their lead for granted "I see the team very focused," Flick said when asked if complacency could be a problem The team know the right attitude on the pitch is necessary for tomorrow Benfica are a really good transition team and we have to take care about that." The winners of the tie will meet either Borussia Dortmund or Lille in the quarterfinal Raphinha's 96th-minute strike was just one part of a sensational ending in the pouring Lisbon rain with Benfica coach Bruno Lage then dressing his players down on the pitch at full time after they had led 3-1 and 4-2 The drama continued as the players headed down the tunnel with Raphinha at the center of the commotion as both teams clashed "I'm someone who respects everyone," Raphinha, who previously played for Benfica's rivals Sporting CP It's normal after an ending like that to a match." A barely believable night had preceded those events with Raphinha saying he's in the best form of his career after scoring twice as Barça made it six successive wins in the Champions League to book their passage directly to the round of 16 Raphinha's winner was his eighth in Europe this season -- only bettered by teammate Robert Lewandowski's nine -- and took his tally in all competitions for the campaign to a career-high 22 "I think I am in the best moment of my career but what matters is that we knew to keep our focus during the entire game "We had the mindset that we could turn the game around after the break scoring a second to get back into the game and we managed to do it in the end Benfica had earlier taken advantage of several Barça mistakes to lead 3-1 at half-time courtesy of a hat trick from Vangelis Pavlidis The Greece international opened the scoring in the second minute and completed his treble inside half an hour after Lewandowski had briefly levelled from the penalty spot Pavlidis rolled his second goal into an empty net after goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny had taken out his own defender, Alejandro Balde PATRICIA DE MELO MOREIRA/AFP via Getty ImagesHe then completed his hat trick with a penalty after Szczęsny fouled Kerem Aktürkoğlu "It was a crazy game," Barça coach Hansi Flick said in a news conference The next opponents will look at this match and we have to make it better "At half-time we said we wanted to change something; we need better positioning Another goalkeeping error gave Barça a route back into the game, with Anatoliy Trubin's drilled pass ricocheting off Raphinha's head 20 yards out and rebounding back into the goal A Ronald Araújo own goal looked to have sealed the points for Benfica, but a second Lewandowski penalty and an Eric García header inside the final 12 minutes set up a grandstand finish as both sides went all out for the win Szczęsny made a super save from Ángel Di María and minutes later Raphinha was sent through at the other end to seal the win "The best thing is the mentality of the team in the second half they always believe in themselves," Flick added we create more chances and we deserved it." The victory means Barça have booked their place in the round of 16 with a game to spare, at home to Italian side Atalanta next week. Therefore, they dodge two extra fixtures in February, when teams that finish between 9th and 24th will take place in a two-legged knockout tie for a place in the round of 16. "Reaching directly the final 16, this will help us a lot for the rest of the season, I am 100% sure about that," Flick said. "The most important thing is we need time to train. This is very important. You can see in the match we are making mistakes, but there is no opportunity to train things in the two days or one day we have. "It's all about recovery, getting back the energy and to be fit for match day. For the players it's really tough." The Catalans continued their recent poor La Liga form with a shaky start at the Estadio da Luz, while coach Hansi Flick's decision to start goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny raised questions after the Polish keeper's mistakes led to two Benfica goals But Flick's team fought back late in the game to secure their spot in the next round sitting second with 18 points from seven games heading into next week's final group-stage fixtures Benfica missed out on a win that would have brought them closer to the top eight and instead dropped to 18th with 10 points among the playoff spots "We knew it was going to be a difficult game I know how difficult it is to play here against Benfica They have players of the highest level," former Sporting forward Raphinha told Movistar "We didn't let ourselves get carried away when we were 3-1 down It was a spectacular match for the spectators Pavlidis restored Benfica's lead, capitalizing on a poor run out by goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, who left the forward with an open goal. The 26-year-old bagged his third with a penalty after Szczesny fouled Kerem Aktürkoglu on the half-hour mark A blunder by Benfica keeper Anatoliy Trubin also proved costly as he cleared the ball straight onto Raphinha's head and into the net for a bizarre goal as the visitors pulled one back in the 64th minute to make it 3-2 Barcelona's defensive misfortune continued, however, and Benfica extended their lead again four minutes later thanks to an own goal from Ronald Araújo before Lewandowski scored his second with another clinical penalty in the 78th Substitute Eric García then equalized with a towering header from a fine Pedri cross three minutes from time Raphinha then found the winner six minutes into stoppage time from a quick counter-attack that stunned the home crowd The team didn't lose their heads throughout the game," defender Garcia said "It's important to qualify for the next round Barça host Atalanta in their final first phase game next Wednesday when Benfica will look to bounce back at Juventus The Catalans continued their recent poor La Liga form with a shaky start at the Estadio da Luz, while coach Hansi Flick's decision to start goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny raised questions after the Polish keeper's mistakes led to two Benfica goals \"We knew it was going to be a difficult game They have players of the highest level,\" former Sporting forward Raphinha told Movistar \"We didn't let ourselves get carried away when we were 3-1 down Pavlidis restored Benfica's lead, capitalizing on a poor run out by goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, who left the forward with an open goal. The 26-year-old bagged his third with a penalty after Szczesny fouled Kerem Aktürkoglu on the half-hour mark A blunder by Benfica keeper Anatoliy Trubin also proved costly as he cleared the ball straight onto Raphinha's head and into the net for a bizarre goal as the visitors pulled one back in the 64th minute to make it 3-2 Barcelona's defensive misfortune continued, however, and Benfica extended their lead again four minutes later thanks to an own goal from Ronald Araújo before Lewandowski scored his second with another clinical penalty in the 78th Substitute Eric García then equalized with a towering header from a fine Pedri cross three minutes from time The team didn't lose their heads throughout the game,\" defender Garcia said \"It's important to qualify for the next round Barça host Atalanta in their final first phase game next Wednesday when Benfica will look to bounce back at Juventus The Puerto Rican artist could make his debut in Portugal with a concert at Lisbon's Estádio da Luz the image of the two chairs is causing a stir Lisbon is often the setting for concerts by major national and international artists, such as Kylie Minogue (scheduled for July) one rumor is dominating the attention of Portuguese fans and media: a possible Bad Bunny show in the capital Although there is still no official confirmation this possibility is gaining more and more strength SL Benfica shared an enigmatic image on their Instagram account with two plastic chairs next to the Estádio da Luz something that evokes the aesthetics of the cover of “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS” Furthermore, the white chairs associated with the more intimate musical universe recently explored by the famous Latin singer were not a phenomenon exclusive to Lisbon the situation was repeated in several European cities and beyond shared a photo similar to that of SL Benfica The same thing happened in Paris (France) Buenos Aires (South America) and Madrid (Spain) the stage name of Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio is one of the most influential artists in Latin music “DeBÍ TiRAR MáS FOToS” is his sixth studio album and was released in January 2025 the Puerto Rican’s latest songs have taken the whole world by storm we can only wait and (re)listen to the main songs on Spotify Tomorrow Benfica continue their title charge with a short trip along the Lisbon coast to Estoril the visitors will be expected to clock up what would be a 12th win in 13 Liga Portugal matches as they chase down rivals Sporting in a titanic title race. the Eagles were also huge favourites when this fixture took place in the first post-World War II championship only to be on the end of a shock thrashing Football historian Miguel Lourenço Pereira takes up the story. It is hard to imagine a time when a giant of a club like SL Benfica could be hammered visiting a nearby neighbour that weren’t either their illustrious rivals Sporting or the once great Belenenses when the football league was still in its teens the Eagles travelled in the opening rounds of that year’s season and were humiliated by an almost unknown then Estoril-Praia even if their golden years ended up being short-lived During World War II Estoril was one of the hottest places to be in Western Europe Portugal had decided to stay neutral during the armed conflict and that made it the perfect place for spies from both sides It was clear the fascist regime led by Salazar was openly in favour of an Axis win but the longstanding alliance and the economic dependency on exports to the United Kingdom left them in a difficult position Spies flocked to Lisbon to move as freely as they could to get detailed info about the other side as well as to influence events particularly regarding the much-coveted wolframium mines up north Round 2 of the Portuguese championship in 1946/47 brought goals galore the popular casino became the central point of connection between spies and their informers moved around when he travelled to Lisbon to prepare what became known as Operation Shell deployed as workers for the petrol stations of the British company Shell all around the city Many of those who reported to the team managed by Fleming had high-ranking positions within the regime One of them was Cândido de Oliveira whose tasks included controlling the information that moved around in telegraphs between Lisbon and destinations abroad the most important figure in the history of Portuguese football the first skipper in a Portugal international event and a successful journalist and manager for more than a decade He met Fleming through the famous Yugoslavian spy Dusko Popov one of the many figures from whom Fleming drew inspiration to create his famed 007 James Bond series. The Shell network would last but a few months before getting caught by Portugal’s PVDE secret police with the help of the former Seleção goalkeeper icon and Oliveira’s personal friend the then post-office manager was sent to the Tarrafal death camp in Cape Verde where he stayed for almost two years until the tide of the war turned Estoril remained a relevant place for information exchange and the prestige of the local Casino outlasted the end of the war Money was moved around regularly and eventually that reached out somehow to the local football club a minnow of sorts founded as late as 1939 thanks to the patronage of Fausto Figueiredo the owner of the local Casino among many hotels and businesses in the region. Fausto Cardoso de Figueiredo is a towering figure in the history of the town of Estoril its Casino and its football club (photo: estorilpraia.pt) The man who had presided over the same place that later inspired the renowned Casino Royale would uplift the football club to its best years It started in 1944 when only five years after being founded the club reached the Portuguese Cup final against all the odds They got promoted at the end of the season and even though they were relegated immediately Estoril found themselves back up in the top flight for the 1946/47 campaign All previous years the championship had featured either 8 so when Benfica was set to visit the ground at Amoreiras many Eagles’ supporters assumed two points were in the bag Benfica had been runners-up to Belenenses in the surprise triumph of the club from Belém the season before – the only club outside the Big Three to win the championship in the 20th century – and they were expected to go full force to recapture the league the side that travelled to Estoril that sunny but cold early December afternoon included many of the great players of the decade in Portuguese football The likes of Arsénio and Rogério Pipi up front the first black-skinned football star in Portuguese football it seemed there was not much the locals could do even if they too had capable players such as Mota The memories of that Cup final from a couple of years earlier still lingered heavily in Estoril but nobody expected them to be thrashed 8-0 by the Eagles and many in the club remained resentful of Benfica and their perceived lack of sportsmanship Figueiredo was keen to get even and what better opportunity than their first duel back in the top tier the inside forward José Mota netted the first into Orlando’s goal Miguel Lourenço scored a second ten minutes later but Arsénio then put one past Sebastião da Silva to halve the deficit and when the referee blew for half time the home team were 3-1 up The local supporters were ecstatic but many suspected that Benfica would come out even stronger after the break to turn events around Few believed how the match would eventually unfold particularly when Rogério Pipi who had become Benfica’s first footballer who played abroad The Eagles launched themselves into an all-out attack approach and that allowed Estoril to bide their time and play on the counter Lima scored Estoril’s fourth and Mota added a fifth before Benfica’s captain Francisco Ferreira netted Benfica’s third from the penalty spot The 5-3 scoreline was already a crazy result even by the high-scoring standards of the day especially as it was Benfica who were on the losing side but then Mota completed his hat-trick with a long-range shot past Orlando with just a couple of minutes left on the clock. Estoril had beaten the side most favoured to clinch the league title and had done it in style to score six goals against the mighty Lisbon juggernaut Estoril score goal number four as Benfica are put to the sword at Amoreira and the result of the Canarinhos when contrasted with the defeat against Boavista raised some doubts about which version of the club supporters would get throughout the season taking into consideration that the only time they had played first division football things had ended poorly with the side being relegated Estoril finished the season in a brilliant 5th with the same points in the league table as both the 3rd and 4th-placed sides All three sides had 33 points to their name and Estoril even enjoyed the best goal difference mainly thanks to their brilliant attacking line who netted 96 goals in all matches But since they weren’t able to beat either opponent in their head-to-head duels The following season they would go one better ending the season in fourth place before finishing fifth the year after It was a memorable period in the club’s history one in which the lack of television or continental trophies has diminished their achievements but that should rank alongside other golden ages for similar-sized sides. In 1948/49 season Estoril provided no fewer than four players (Vieira Alberto and Sebastião) to Portugal's national team (Photo: estorilpraia.pt) Estoril Praia had to wait more than sixty years would suffer after their surprise defeat at Amoreiras and were never really able to put up a title challenge against their bitter rivals Sporting who began a cycle of three consecutive league titles It was the first league win for what became known as the Cinco Violinos forward line José Travassos and the mighty Fernando Peyroteo Kelly would then leave Sporting and it was Cândido de Oliveira the man arrested after becoming a spy at the service of the MI5 who had been working as sporting director to support the British coach Sporting did one better and claimed four in a row between 1950 and 1954 but They would have to wait until 1975 to climb back to the first tier at a time when the squad included a certain Fernando Santos who would both play for and manage Estoril and indelibly write his name in the annuls of Portuguese football By Miguel Lourenço Pereria, author of “Bring Me That Horizon – A Journey to the Soul of Portuguese Football” Deloitte Insights and our research centers deliver proprietary research designed to help organizations turn their aspirations into action Sport Lisboa e Benfica has won Portugal’s domestic football league more than any other team1 and regularly competes against Europe’s best in the UEFA Champion’s League the club has embraced new technologies and developed a focus on innovation “To compete, we need to be smart and do things a little differently,” says Joao Copeto, chief information and technology officer at Benfica.2 Read more from Deloitte Insights’ Trend Lines series the organization has built a large sports data science program that invests in advanced technologies like player-motion-tracking computer vision and artificial intelligence talented players into high-caliber professional athletes Benfica operates junior-player development academies where it trains future professionals the team has generated some of the highest player-transfer deals in Europe Benfica has turned player development into a profitable business the player academy collects a range of data on players such as how they are developing their football skills Coaches and teachers can use this data to develop personalized instruction to help players improve both on and off the pitch AI and spatial data are helping the team gain a competitive edge Benfica uses camera technology combined with AI and computer vision to track player movements on the field during games These cameras track 2,000 individual points of each player’s body throughout the games to see where players position themselves All this data essentially creates a digital twin of each player This allows the team to simulate player behavior in different positions or test new strategies The team is now using these simulations to help contribute to tactical decision-making “There’s been a huge evolution in AI that’s pushing these models forward and now we can use them in decision-making,” Copeto says AI is also helping team staff eliminate low-value work and focus on more valuable tasks the coaching staff wants to know how the team performed on set pieces like corner kicks and free kicks an analyst had to manually review the footage and flag these set pieces before anyone could actually analyze them for insights with the help of AI computer vision models allowing analysts to spend more time developing insights “What we want to achieve with technology is for the staff to use their time to analyze the game instead of using it to produce data,” says Copeto AI helps accelerate a lot of these processes.” Copeto expects operations to continue getting more efficient as AI assumes a larger role within the team and staff members’ day-to-day tasks involve generating organizations are finding more ways to use these models to improve upon previously manual tasks “What we can do as a team will improve now with large language models and multimodal AI tools,” Copeto says Change your Analytics and performance cookie settings to access this feature João Socorro Viegas, “Águias reforçam estatuto de clube mais titulado em Portugal,” Record.pt have helped the European grocery chain improve its operational efficiency and customers’ shopping experience Streaming data pipelines enable real-time analytics and rapid communication with connected devices—ultimately helping businesses take faster data-driven actions Here's how US electric utility company Exelon used virtual reality for employee training without any safety risks Deloitte Insights and our research centers deliver proprietary research designed to help organizations turn their aspirations into action © 2025. 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See Terms of Use for more information Alex Iwobi struck the only goal of the game The Portuguese giants were much improved after the restart but were frustrated by some fine Bernd Leno goalkeeping A slick Rodrigo Muniz turn in his own half saw him spin in behind the Benfica defence inside five minutes but his attempt to free Iwobi saw the ball deflect behind for a corner from which Tom Cairney’s delivery was flicked against the post it was from another corner that Fulham threatened next Muniz stooping to head Cairney’s cross into the grateful arms of Anatoliy Trubin Fulham’s new number nine then took advantage of a defensive mistake to tee up Iwobi but he was off balance and could only volley off target Benfica’s first sight of goal came on the 18 minute mark when Gianluca Prestianni opened his body up on the edge of the box a clinical counter attack provided the breakthrough for the Whites Terrific running from Adama Traoré saw him break through the lines and create a four-on-two situation in our favour He fed Iwobi who played a cool one-two with Antonee Robinson before slotting inside the near post Fulham were by far the better side and had half chances to double the lead with Cairney shooting straight at Trubin and Muniz placing one wide A rare threat from Benfica came when Vangelis Pavlidis caught a volley sweetly from a very acute angle but strong fists from Leno were able to beat it away Benfica were much better after the break and had already threatened twice when Prestianni lashed in a low drive from 20 yards that managed to hit both posts before being cleared to safety Fredrik Aursnes won a high press and rounded Leno but Bassey positioned himself brilliantly to clear his shot off the line They got another effort on target on 66 minutes when Orkun Kokcu connected sweetly with what was one of his first touches since coming off the bench but Leno got down quickly to make a superb reflex save Marco Silva made a lot of changes in the second 45 and three of his substitutes combined for our best chance of the half Ryan Sessegnon got beyond his man and delivered a deep cross for Raúl Jiménez to nod back across goal which Wilson met only to have his header clawed away expertly by Trubin Leno tipped over a vicious swirling effort from Martim Neto at full stretch at the other end to ensure his side won the Troféu do Algarve Fulham will be back in the same stadium on Monday evening Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Barcelona managed a 1-0 victory over Benfica despite going down to 10 men as they triumphed in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 match Barcelona should have gone ahead in the 12th minute of the game Anatoliy Trubin in the Benfica goal managed a magnificent triple save — including one from close range to deny Robert Lewandowski — to keep the scores level Then came one of the game’s defining moments Vangelis Pavlidis drove through Barcelona’s high defensive line As he edged closer to Wojciech Szczesny in the Barcelona goal Referee Felix Zwayer had no option but to send the defender off Benfica were the stronger side in the first part of the second half Raphinha collected the ball in the Benfica half and drove forward before firing past Trubin from range — courtesy of a deflection — to give his side the lead The La Liga leaders then survived a penalty scare to get the win and go into Tuesday’s second leg in Barcelona with the advantage The Athletic’s Dermot Corrigan and Anantaajith Raghuraman analyse the first leg The 28-year-old endured a middling first half with Cubarsi’s early dismissal forcing him to use his work rate to defend rather than harry Benfica’s back line On the odd occasion when Barcelona got forward Raphinha uncharacteristically seemed to lack a little composure twice playing crosses into dangerous areas rather than trying to find one of his attacking partners Raphinha provided Alejandro Balde with some much-needed help which in turn allowed Balde to grow in confidence as the game went on Raphinha combined well with Pedri and Lewandowski as Barcelona’s defence remained resolute in the second half giving their attackers a chance to hit the hosts on the counter Raphinha shifted over to the right and almost instantly made an impact He intercepted a loose pass from Antonio Silva and drove forward before firing a shot on goal from the edge of the box that beat Trubin via a deflection having scored the dramatic winner and a fortunate header in the league-phase meeting Raphinha combined well defensively with Kounde to limit Alvaro Fernandez Carreras’ impact with the Benfica left-back also picking up a booking that rules him out of the second leg right-winger and right wing-back while scoring the decisive goal running relentlessly from back to front and making numerous important defensive interventions This was a performance that tested Barcelona to their limits and One of Hansi Flick’s big selection calls was to start Frenkie de Jong in midfield over Marc Casado and the Dutchman — wearing the captain’s armband — gave a performance that repaid his coach’s confidence taking the ball deep in his own half and helping his side play through Benfica’s high press One moment stood out when De Jong turned away from two would-be pressers and accelerated away forcing Leandro Barreiro to pull him back to stop the danger Soon after the game changed with Cubarsi’s sending off De Jong barrelled over Benfica left-back Carreras signalling to his team-mates that they were going to need to be determined playing with 10 men But it was not all about sitting back to defend — the 27-year-old kept looking to get his team moving forward he burst through two players to get deep into the Benfica half and then curved a ball behind the defence that would have created a big chance for Raphinha if the Brazilian had read it quickly enough The former Ajax player has never really lived up to his €86million price tag from his 2019 arrival Barcelona’s directors have long disliked paying his hefty salary and many Catalan fans and pundits would prefer to see local youngster Casado in the team But Flick likes the more experienced De Jong who has now started seven of Barcelona’s last 10 games and tonight’s performance in a tricky tie showed just why January’s group-stage trip to Benfica was when Szczesny played his first Champions League game for Barcelona but has kept his place and is now firmly Flick’s first choice Barcelona are unbeaten in the 14 games since in all competitions but there were still plenty of questions around Szczesny who just a few months ago was spending his retirement in Marbella A 68 per cent save percentage coming into tonight’s game was not great but his sweeping off his line and general experience behind a young defence are really valued by his coach The Poland international was quickly involved tonight with a fine save from Kerem Akturkoglu after just 18 seconds he showed fine footwork to get quickly off his line and spread himself to smother when a cross reached Akturkoglu at the back post then making an even better stop from Fredrik Aursnes after really good work down the left by Spain Under-21 left-back Carreras The veteran former Arsenal and Juventus goalkeeper was also solid coming from his line to catch crosses and took his time over goal kicks as Barcelona were very happy to run down the clock There was a late let-off when an offside flag saved Sczeszny after the referee awarded a penalty for a foul on Benfica sub Andrea Belotti This was by far his best night so far in a Barcelona shirt Flick brought on Ronald Araujo to replace Dani Olmo while Raphinha and Lamine Yamal dropped into a midfield four out of possession It meant Lewandowski was often isolated up top Barcelona’s defensive line dropped a few metres with Pavlidis seeing a couple of shots blocked and Akturkoglu forcing an excellent save from Szczesny Szczesny was called into action multiple times early in the second half making the aforementioned saves and repeatedly punching away corners They advanced the ball quickly in the 32nd and 34th minute first through a neat Pedri pass and then a driving run from De Jong In the seventh minute of first-half stoppage time but the winger’s cross was between Lewandowski and Yamal Pedri was at the heart of Barcelona’s best move early in the second half combining well with Yamal and Lewandowski to win a corner following a Benfica attack With Carreras wreaking havoc on Benfica’s left at the start of the second half Flick replaced Yamal with Ferran Torres in the 56th minute moving Raphinha over to the right to give Jules Kounde more help a smart move that paid dividends in more ways than one with Araujo and Inigo Martinez — despite being on yellow cards — repeatedly making crucial blocks Szczesny and De Jong put in their best displays in a Barcelona shirt while Pedri continued his string of brilliant performances winning fouls and holding onto possession brilliantly under pressure Barcelona’s second-half substitutes stuck to the task Torres and Casado all contributing to one of their most impressive performances of the season He was also full of praise for Szczesny: “We had a good goalkeeper today (Top photo: Felipe Amorim/AFP via Getty Images) Benfica Crush Tirsense 5-0 in First Leg of Taça de Portugal SemifinalsSport Lisboa e Benfica took a commanding step toward the Taça de Portugal final with a resounding 5-0 win over FC Tirsense on April 9 in the first leg of the semifinals at the Estádio Cidade de Barcelos Benfica opened the scoring in the 16th minute thanks to an own goal from Tirsense captain João Pedro who deflected a cross from Samuel Dahl into his own net promising youngster João Rego doubled the lead finishing a well-constructed team move initiated by Florentino Luís and assisted by Andreas Schjelderup Benfica continued their attacking onslaught converting a clever assist from Schjelderup Arthur Cabral then fired in the fourth with a powerful strike following a pinpoint cross by Tiago Gouveia in the 72nd minute The night was capped off by Schjelderup himself who added a deserved fifth goal in the 84th minute after a high press and recovery from Prestianni As regular participants in the Champions League, Barça and Benfica have already faced each other on several occasions The blaugranes have mostly ended up with a positive result but the Lisbon side have also come out on top When looking back at past encounters between the sides no less than the European Cup final in the 1960/61 season when Benfica downed Barça 3-2 to be crowned European champions A game to forget for the blaugranes in which they went ahead first but in the blink of an eye Benfica scored two goals in a minute to go in 2-1 up at the break The Lisbon side were superior in the second half and ran out 3-2 winners with those quick-fire goals in the first half proving vital for Benfica's victory Another very important game between Barça and Benfica came in the 1991/92 season when the blaugranes won their first European Cup The sides faced each other in the final group stage game when top spot in each group meant a place in the final The game was played at the Spotify Camp Nou where Barça won 2-1 to book a place at Wembley and the rest is history The teams have met several times this century Blaugrana fans will remember 2006 fondly as it culminated with the second Champions League win The sides met in the quarterfinals that season with Barça going through 2-0 on aggregate after winning the return leg at the Spotify Camp Nou by that scoreline More recently came the group stage match in the 2011/12 season when Barça won 0-2 at the Estádio da Luz before earning a 0-0 draw at the Spotify Camp Nou the Catalans and the Lisbon side have met a couple more times They faced each other twice in the group stage in 2021 with Benfica beating Barça 3-0 in Lisbon and the game at the Spotify Camp Nou ending in a 0-0 draw This meant the blaugranes ended up in third place in the table dropping into the final phase of the Europa League the most recent clash between Barça and Benfica was a frenetic affair It was the penultimate round of the league matches with a view to qualifying for the next round the match won't go down in history because of what the result meant as such Barça ending up winning 4-5 at the Estádio da Luz a very oddball result for a football match indeed It wasn't just the scoreline that stood out it was the way Flick's side managed to come back Barça were losing 3-1 after a poor first half and the second half still saw them losing 4-2 after 70 minutes as they rolled up their sleeves to achieve what seemed an impossible victory Both sides have tasted success in past matches Let's see what happens in the upcoming last 16 matches A lot of changes are expected at Real Madrid after this season Los Blancos could potentially end the season without any silverware There may also be managerial changes at the Spanish capital with Bayer Leverkusen manager Xabi Alonso strongly linked with a move to his former club The Spanish manager could reportedly replace Carlo Ancelotti at the end of the season Los Blancos are looking to hit the reset button as plenty of changes are expected in the summer transfer window Real Madrid have been exploring the market for a left-back as the management was looking for an upgrade over Ferland Mendy and Fran Garcia They were strongly linked with Bayern Munich's Alphonso Davies until he signed a contract extension with the Germans Hence, according to reports via AS the Spanish outfit are plotting a well thought out move to lure Benfica defender Benfica are demanding €60 million for the left-back following his exceptional performances this season However, Real Madrid are interested in the youngster, but they are reluctant to match Benfica's hefty asking price. This is where Manchester United enter the picture 📲 Follow The Sporting News on WhatsApp Manchester United sold Carreras to Benfica in May 2024 for only €6 million the 22-year-old has grown in stature with some phenomenal performances for the Portuguese outfit this season 🇪🇸⚡️ Álvaro Carreras (Benfica, 22)🏅 94th percentile for Progressive passes🏅 82nd percentile for Defensive duel %🏅 92nd percentile for Aerial duel %Per 90 minutes, no fullback in Primeira Liga has more passes, forward passes, progressive passes, passes to final third, or… pic.twitter.com/DKl6D55gCX United reportedly have the opportunity to bring the Spaniard back to Old Trafford by triggering the buy-back clause The Red Devils could then sell Carreras to Real Madrid for a transfer fee around €30-35 million This will be a fee that will be more viable for Los Blancos than paying double to Benfica Carreras has been a sort of journeyman footballer in his young career as a pro The Spanish defender started his youth career with Racing de Ferrol before moving to Deportivo La Coruna in 2012 He moved to Real Madrid in 2017 and featured for Castilla for three years before joining Manchester United's academy in 2020 The 22-year-old was a standout player for United's U-23 team and also received a call-up to the first team he was loaned out to Preston before returning to Spain for another loan stint with Granada he was permanently signed by the Portuguese outfit in May 2024 Real Madrid scouts feel the Spain U-21 player fits the team perfectly and will be an upgrade over Mendy on the left flank He will provide defensive solidity and has the speed to recover in tight situations His physical stature and positioning make him a solid option for the Spanish outfit Atrayo Bhattacharya is a content producer for The Sporting News FC Barcelona will face Benfica in the last 16 of the Champions League following Friday's draw at UEFA Headquarters in Nyon Hansi Flick's team will play the first leg away from home at the Estádio da Luz on Wednesday 5 March kick off 9pm CET with the second leg the following week on Tuesday 11 March at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys The blaugranes will face Benfica once again in the 2024/25 Champions League after their epic 5-4 comeback victory in the Estádio da Luz on match day 7 of the league phase of the competition. With the draw now complete for the whole competition the blaugranes know that should they make it to the quarter-finals they will face the winners of the last 16 tie between Borussia Dortmund and Lille with the first leg at home in the Estadi Olímpic on 8/9 April and the second leg away on 15/16 April. Club Brugge v Aston Villa Borussia Dortmund v Lille Real Madrid v Atlético Madrid Bayern Munich v Bayer LeverkusenPSV Eindhoven v Arsenal Feyenoord v Inter Milan PSG v LiverpoolBenfica v FC Barcelona © 2025 BVM Sports. Best Version Media, LLC. has a buy-back clause and could facilitate a transfer to Real Madrid for around €30-35 million If Manchester United exercises the buy-back option allowing the latter to solidify their defense affordably The plan could unfold swiftly in the summer transfer window Real Madrid's strategy highlights a need for revitalization without overspending showcasing smart navigation in the transfer market Acquiring Carreras could be a pivotal move providing the necessary defensive boost while managing financial constraints The summary of the linked article was generated with the assistance of artificial intelligence technology from OpenAI We use cookies to ensure that we give you the best experience on our website If you continue to use this site we will assume that you are happy with it OK Privacy policy After a brilliant Champions League group stage FC Barcelona now continue their bid for a sixth continental title with a last 16 tie against Benfiica The first leg in the Portuguese capital is a Wednesday 9pm CEST start and this page will help you work out what time that is where you are in the world This page also lists the broadcasters that hold the rights to UCL games in different countries and regions Please bear in mind that FC Barcelona has no direct control over television distribution rights and you should check your local news and TV listings to confirm that they are televising this particular game In whatever case, if you are unable to find the game or would like to complement your viewing with other info, then you are well advised to go to our Match Center and all the latest news and videos as they come in And not forgetting the complete coverage available on our official social networks: * Please note that we list here the channels that hold the right to show games in the 2024-25 season but we cannot guarantee that they will be televising this particular game or that the rights have not been transferred to another broadcaster Canada / Vancouver (12.00 PM); Toronto (3.00 PM)DAZN United States / Los Angeles (12.00 PM); New York (3.00 PM)Paramount+ Central America / Costa Rica (1.00 PM); Panama (2.00 PM)ESPN Norte Suriname (4.00 PM)CPSL (Flow Sports & SportsMax) Balkan Republics (9.00 PM)Arena SportPlus: HRT in Croatia Russia and Belarus / Moscow (11.00 PM)Okko Central Asian Republics / Uzbekistan (1.00 AM) Australia / Perth (4.00 AM) Sydney (7.00 AM)STAN Last Saturday, FIFA released the schedule of all matches in the group stage of the Club World Cup a tournament that will take place between June 15 and July 13 The draw had been held two days earlier in Miami Portuguese clubs SL Benfica and FC Porto will participate in the tournament which usually took place in the winter and involved the champions of the six confederations was completely remodeled by FIFA President Gianni Infantino and will have 32 clubs in the 2025 edition That was a very controversial decision because the competition takes place during what is usually the players’ vacation period in recent months several renowned stars - including Rodri Manchester City’s Spanish midfielder who won the Ballon d'Or award awarded to the best player in the world - have been publicly expressing their great displeasure with the increase in the number of games as medical authorities have determined that the increased density of the competitive calendar combined with the passive recovery from fatigue has potentiated a growing wave of knee ligament tears in soccer players 22 against Arsenal and will not play again this season an orthopedist specializing in sports medicine and doctor of the Portuguese national team for many years the increase in this type of injury has almost quadrupled,” Jones noted “There is no doubt that we have already begun to see complaints from athletes and clubs as the overload of competitions is directly linked to this cataclysm of anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries.” “The medical community dealing with sports traumatology is super worried,” he added the problem is the shorter time that athletes have to recover and do prevention exercises the knee is not as prepared as it should be to prevent this and other types of injuries.” has also gone public to express his disagreement with the extended competitive calendar of the clubs “The calendar is linked to an alarming increase in injuries,” he said “UEFA and FIFA added 14 matches of their own the equivalent of two and a half months of competition We have already had nine cruciate ligament injuries.” The club’s extended injury list includes Dani Carvajal “The lack of rest affects the players’ careers,” Pérez said FIFA has created a Club World Cup that deprives players of their usual rest UEFA staged 488 official matches 10 years ago and now it has gone to 769 the search for the 2024 Club World Cup champion is still ongoing the competition had seven teams representing the six FIFA confederations who played seven games in the span of 11 days to determine the champion But since the format for 2025 has been profoundly changed in a game in which Al Ain from the United Arab Emirates thrashed Auckland City from New Zealand who last week were crowned champions of Brazil just a couple of days after winning the Copa Libertadores Pachuca and Al-Ahly will square off to decide who gets to face European champion Real Madrid in the final to be played on Dec Infantino has always turned a deaf ear to complaints from players managers and club officials so during last Thursday’s draw the FIFA president said that everything FIFA does “has to be global.” “(FIFA) has to involve the globe,” he said “(FIFA) has to give opportunities and chances to [everyone] all over the world and the (FIFA) Club World Cup is doing exactly that.” this tournament is a dream come true for many players “Any club from anywhere in the world can dream [about] playing in the FIFA Club World Cup,” he said “And any player from anywhere in the world can dream [about] playing for one of these clubs because these are the best clubs in the world.” “The 32 best teams of the world – 12 European [two] from North America – will play to determine for the first time in history which will be “You cannot be the best if you don’t play against clubs from everywhere – the best clubs from everywhere.” many of these teams are not among the top 32 in the world They received access to the competition simply because the six confederations had to be represented there is controversy because this year’s champion were excluded and in their place Infantino chose Inter Miami a trophy that rewards the team with the most points during the regular season But for FIFA it is far more important to have Lionel Messi noted that “this is controversial because Inter Miami are not MLS champions handed to the team with the best regular-season record and broke the MLS record for most points (74) in a single season in the process… Inter Miami failed to make it past the first round as they were knocked out by Atlanta United So Inter Miami and Messi will be at the Club World Cup it seems highly likely he’ll play in the first-ever match against Al Ahly at Miami’s home on June 14 When and where Benfica and FC Porto will play?FC Porto was placed in Group A Boca Juniors (Argentina) and Auckland City (New Zealand) If they manage to get out of the group stage as the top two teams in each group advance to the round of 16 the Portuguese teams already known who they will likely face FC Porto’s Group A will cross paths with B Atlético Madrid and Botafogo; Benfica’s Group C will cross with D and could face Chelsea or Flamengo The round of 16 matches possibly involving Benfica and Futebol Clube do Porto will take place on June 28 or 29 they will square off against the runner-up in Group D Futebol Clube do Porto will play against the winner of group B “We are very proud to be part of this history,” said Benfica’s President Rui Costa one of the most historic teams in the world We have a lot of tradition of Argentinian players in Portugal We have an interesting and beautiful connection here.” the most important thing at the moment is to be able to be part of this history of the first Club World Cup,” added Costa FC Porto President André Villas-Boas was also pleased with the opponents that landed in his group and revealed an interesting episode involving Palmeiras Palmeiras turned out to be one of the first clubs to start an exchange of pennants with FC Porto They made a point of sending us a commemorative shirt of the Club World Cup without even knowing that we could play against each other.” “Interesting also is the presence of a Portuguese coach [Abel Ferreira] who if he remains in charge will bring more Portuguese pride to the game,” he added intense and always with a dedication and intensity in the game that is difficult to control with all their stars and everything that it means at the moment to have an American team surrounded with all its stars like Messi and all the others.” FIFA announced that it had reached a $1 billion broadcast deal with sports streaming service DAZN which means that all 63 matches will be available for free as FIFA wants to reach five billion people and Infantino boasted that four million people will visit the U.S FIFA still has not announced how much each club will get from participating in the tournament but it appears that the amount is far shorter of the initial projection of 50 million euros per club Villas-Boas confessed that he had expected a higher monetary fee although this is something that is still being discussed “The ECA [European Club Association] continues to communicate with FIFA to try for a better distribution of prize money,” he said “It is estimated to between 16 and 20 M€ per participant and then add-ons related to performance but always important for FC Porto because of missing the Champions League this year.. we are very happy to be in this competition and very proud We have won the Intercontinental twice and we want to be in this competition and honor those accomplishments.” You don't have permission to access the page you requested What is this page?The website you are visiting is protected.For security reasons this page cannot be displayed There are just a few hours to go before the Champions League returns to the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys at a slightly earlier time than usual (6.45pm CET) and with Barça going into the game with a one-goal head start thanks to their brilliant performance with ten men in Lisbon But Benfica surely haven't had the final say and Hansi Flick is going to have to make do without a key player in Pau Cubarsí who is suspended following his red card at the Stadium of Light the Barça coach announced the following squad of 23 players: Balde The Athletic FC ⚽ is The Athletic’s daily football (or soccer, if you prefer) newsletter. Sign up to receive it directly to your inbox Hello! Pandemonium in Lisbon. Thank heavens for Raphinha 🫠 Barca bring the chaos 📺 Raging Amorim wrecks TV 💰 The first $1m women’s player 🚪 Dortmund sack boss Sahin January 21, 2025. Remember it not as the morning after Donald Trump’s second inauguration, but rather as the date of the most incompetent tie in Champions League history And I mean that as a compliment because incompetence can be the godfather of pure entertainment It was last night as Benfica and Barcelona ploughed their life savings into out-fiasco-ing each other and Lisbon gave us an instant classic of the genre Don’t ask me how Barca got out of Dodge with a 5-4 win Barca use what we call ‘economic levers’ to keep their finances on the right side of La Liga rules Would it be OK to humbly suggest that next time they pull one they spend some money on a truly world-class goalkeeper Not to be outdone, Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin helped Barca out by driving an easy clearance in off the head of Raphinha (above). He couldn’t repeat the blunder if he tried. That was 3-2, until Barca’s Ronald Araujo sliced a cross into his own net Robert Lewandowski and Eric Garcia pulled it back to 4-4 Raphinha decided not to settle for a point Benfica substitute Arthur Cabral got a red card without stepping on the pitch and many rags were lost at the final whistle Twice Simeone has gone within a whisker of winning the Champions League ‘Shooting from the lip’ was our way of describing Ruben Amorim after he publicly slated his Manchester United team. In fact, we didn’t know the half of it — because in the wake of their defeat to Brighton on Sunday he smashed up a widescreen TV in the dressing room Amorim already has no f***s left to give. It’s his way or the highway and as Laurie Whitwell’s superb exclusive shows But him bringing small-scale violence to the table was eye-opening because football has largely moved on from the days when coaches motivated a squad by reading the riot act It used to be the done thing and never more famously than when Amorim’s most renowned predecessor, Sir Alex Ferguson, drew blood from the face of David Beckham by kicking a boot in his direction in 2003. Whether any of this is appropriate is for you to judge Amorim is letting us know where his head is at An equally cracking exclusive next from The Athletic’s Meg Linehan Women’s football is about to see its first $1m transfer with USWNT defender Naomi Girma lined up to leave San Diego Wave for Chelsea That breaks the previous mark ($843,000) set by Racheal Kundananji’s switch to Bay FC last year and it’s the third time the world record in the women’s game has been broken since the start of 2024 No doubt, the money involved is a mile behind the men’s game still. The first male player to move for $1m or more was Italian Pietro Anastasi in 1968 But one thing we know for sure about women’s soccer: it’s expanding Europa League: Besiktas vs Athletic Club Just how furious was Benfica manager Bruno Lage with his players after last night’s mayhem in Lisbon (Top photo: Eric Verhoeven/Soccrates/Getty Images) Phil grew up near Edinburgh in Scotland and joined The Athletic in 2019 as its Leeds United writer. He is now lead writer of The Athletic FC newsletter. He previously worked for the Yorkshire Evening Post as its chief football writer. Follow Phil on Twitter @PhilHay_ playLaporta: Barcelona must defend attacks from 'outside and inside' the club (0:59)Barcelona president Joan Laporta defends Barcelona after their recent registration controversy with Dani Olmo and Pau Victor Olmo has scored six goals and registered three assists in 18 appearances since joining Barça from RB Leipzig Barcelona were held by Getafe on Saturday in LaLiga but are well-placed in the Champions League table in second "Dani Olmo has a right soleus [lower calf muscle] strain He is out for the next match and his return will be determined by his recovery," the club said The injury comes after Olmo and fellow summer signing Pau Víctor were granted temporary playing registrations by the country's top sports court Olmo and Victor were originally only registered for the first half of the season and Barcelona were then blocked by LaLiga and the Spanish Football Federation from registering both players for the second half of the campaign for failing to meet Financial Fair Play rules before the Dec which intervened as the National Sports Council reversed the decision and allowed the club to provisionally register the players until the final resolution of Barcelona's appeal The Estadi Olímpic is ready for another great night with the Champions League back in Barcelona Hansi Flick's side have a 1-0 advantage in their last 16 tie against Benfica after their impressive performance in Lisbon last week The blaugranes have the chance to book their place in the quarter finals with a good result in Tuesday's early kick off and also the opportunity to pay tribute to first team doctor Carles Miñarro who tragically passed away unexpectedly at the weekend In whatever case, if you are unable to find the game or would like to complement your viewing with other info, then you are well advised to go to our Match Center Canada / Vancouver (10.45 PM); Toronto (1.45 PM)DAZN United States / Los Angeles (10.45 AM); New York (1.45 PM)Paramount+ Central America / Costa Rica (11.45 PM); Panama (12.40 PM)ESPN Norte Bahamas (1.45 PM)CPSL (Flow Sports & SportsMax) Balkan Republics (6.45 PM)Arena SportPlus: HRT in Croatia Central Asian Republics / Uzbekistan (10.45 PM) Australia / Perth (1.45 AM) Sydney (4.45 AM)STAN Fans were fuming after Barcelona stole a last-gasp win against Benfica in the Champions League with the hosts being denied a penalty at the death FC Barcelona have been able to watch this week's Champions League playoffs safe in the knowledge that their own place in the last 16 is already assured We still don't know who Barça will be playing but the original four possibilities have now been whittled down to two: PSG or Benfica One of those two clubs will be playing the Catalans while the other will have the similarly daunting challenge of facing Premier League leaders Liverpool PSG made light work of their all-French playoff against Brest with a 3-0 win in the first leg in Brittany leaving them with a foot and a half in the next round before a ball was even kicked in Wednesday's second leg Luis Enrique's team sealed their place in the last 16 with an emphatic 7-0 win reached the last 16 in the most dramatic of circumstances Having won the first leg 1-0 with a goal from Pavlidis the same man who netted a hat-trick against Barça in the league phase the Portuguese side were nicely set up for the home leg especially after Aktürkoğlu earned them an early lead in that game as well But it turned out to be anything but an easy ride Monaco hit back with goals from Minamino and Ben Seghir to level up the tie and although Benfica restored their lead from the penalty spot meaning the game was headed for extra time But a late goal from Kokcu snatched the win for Benfica and they now have a 50% possibility of meeting Barça for the second time in the competition Barça will be playing the first leg of their last 16 tie away from home either at the Parc des Princes or the Stadium of Light on March 4 or 5 The Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys will be hosting the second leg a week later on March 11 or 12 Thanks to their heroics last Wednesday in Lisbon, FC Barcelona are going into the second leg of their Champions League last sixteen match with Benfica (Tuesday 6.45pm CET) with two huge factors in their favour Despite the early loss of Pau Cubarsí to a red card at the Stadium of Light Barça not only managed to deal with the situation brilliantly but even went on to win the match 1-0 thanks to a terrific second half goal from the in-form Raphinha Things are fabulously stacked in their favour but if any team knows that a positive result in a first leg is no absolute guarantee of qualification Fresh in the memory are games such as those with Liverpool Eintracht Frankfurt and last season against PSG.. occasions when great performances in the first 90 minutes were followed by disappointments in the return So it's important for Barça not to be lulled into a false sense of security the team with the strongest shot conversion rate in this year's competition and who scored four times against the Catalans in the League Phase But following a comfortable 3-0 win over Nacional in their domestic championship on Saturday they'll be coming to the Estadi Olimpic knowing that they are by no means out of this yet They are understandably furious with themselves for not taking advantage of either their home advantage or their numerical superiority last week But as they showed against Monaco and Juventus in the group stage they are quite capable of winning at the very toughest grounds in Europe Benfica have failed in all four previous attempts to win away to Barça And the Catalans have not lost at home to any Portuguese club at all since 1952 With seven wins and a draw in their last eight Champions League matches and unbeaten in all competitions in 2025 Barça are very much the favourites to advance All that remains is to demonstrate that on the pitch.. the players are determined to win this game in his honour It's been a difficult few days at the club but the German insists that his players have managed to switch their minds back to football Marc-Andre ter Stegen and midfielder Marc Bernal are both out for the season who is suspended following his red card in the first leg Gavi is back to his usual self after recovering from a bout of fever and a minor niggle suffered by Robert Lewandowski is nothing to prevent him from playing Benfica's cause is not helped by the absences of Danish right back Alexander Bah winger Tiago Gouveia and former Real Madrid man Angel Di Maria to injury while Spaniard Álvaro Carreras is on a yellow card suspension "We have to pressure more against Benfica and defend well In Lisbon we saw how they can counter and we have to be careful .. We have to be focused and have the right attitude to get the win We are preparing well; it's an important moment for the club and we want to do well." "The players are doing fantastically well, they are in a good run at the moment and we are confident - we have to maintain that for this game ... This morning in the meeting we showed them what we did well in Lisbon and where we have to improve." FULL STORY HERE Benfica coach Bruno Lage and defender Tomàs Araújo also spoke to media ahead of the game.