“Very proud” – Hansi Flick expresses delight at Barcelona victory against Benfica – Football España

Barcelona defeated Benfica 1-0 in Lisbon on Wednesday to put themselves in pole position to reach the last 16 of the Champions League. Raphinha’s second half strike proved to the difference between the two teams, while Wojciech Szczesny also produced a huge performance at the Estadio da Luz to prevent the Portuguese giants from finding the back of the net.

It was a dogged performance from Barcelona, who played with 10 men from the midway point in the first half after Pau Cubarsi was sent off for a last man challenge on Benfica striker Vangelis Pavlidis. Hansi Flick was very happy with the display from his side, as he made clear during his post-match press conference (via MD).

“I’m very proud of the team. After being down to 10 men in the 22nd minute, it’s a great performance from the players. We played an intelligent game. We had a good goalkeeper today, who was fantastic for us. We have defended as a unit and that is the important thing. I’m happy for them.”

Flick was also full of praise for Pedri, who delivered another midfield masterclass on his way to another MVP performance.

“He’s at a brutal, incredible level. We’re happy for him.”

Cubarsi’s early red card forced Flick to bring on Ronald Araujo to partner Inigo Martinez in the centre of defence. Dani Olmo was the player sacrificed for this change, and the midfielder was visibly annoyed at being taken off, although his manager attempted to justify the decision post-match.

“It happens, I had to choose. It had nothing to do with him or his performance, it was only to do with tactical adjustments. I think we made the right changes in the game.”

Barcelona are now firm favourites to reach the quarter-finals of the Champions League, even with Cubarsi unavailable next week. If they do progress, they will play either Borussia Dortmund or Lille.