'We Had A Good Goalkeeper': Wojciech Szczesny Stars For Barcelona, Makes Several Crucial Saves In 1-0 UCL Win Over Benfica

Barcelona and Benfica met for the second time in the UEFA Champions League this season but this time the stakes were considerably higher as they faced off in the round of 16 stage of the tournament. Barcelona had beaten defeated Benfica when the two teams had met in the group stage where Barcelona had come out on top. Now Barcelona travelled to Portugal for their first leg match against Benfica and came out on top by a margin of 1-0 thanks to Brazilian winger Raphinha coming in clutch for the Catalan club.

Barcelona Defeat Benfica 1-0 In First Leg

It was the first leg of the match between Barcelona and Benfica as Barcelona travelled to Portugal for the match. Barcelona went down a man within the first 25 minutes of the match after defender Pau Cubarsi was shown a red card. Barcelona down to ten men had to rely on goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny to make several crucial saves to stay in the game. 

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It was in the 61st minute of the match that Raphinha broke the deadlock and scored for Barcelona. That was the only goal in the match as Barcelona managed to get the win with only ten players. 

Hansi Flick Overjoyed With Szczesny's Performance Against Benfica

The real star of the match for FC Barcelona was goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny who made several crucial saves to get Barcelona the win in the first leg of the round of 16. Following the win, Barcelona manager Hansi Flick had a lot of words of praise for the goalkeeper after the win. 

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“We had a good goalkeeper today, which was fantastic for us. We defended as a unit, and that’s the important thing. I am happy for him,” said Hansi Flick following the win against Benfica.

Barcelona and Benfica will meet again in the second leg of the round of 16 on Tuesday in Barcelona.