Barcelona certified for the Champions League quarter-finals within the title of Carles Miñarro, as a journey they started collectively continued in his absence.
On Tuesday morning a funeral was held for the membership physician who had died instantly on the crew resort three days earlier; the identical night, the gamers he had cared for and who had spent the earlier night time on the chapel of relaxation paid homage the one approach they actually might.
“We tried to do all the things for him,” Pedri stated after they defeated Benfica 3-1 at Montjuïc, a massively spectacular show devoted to him.
“He shall be supporting us wherever he’s; it is rather vital for us to win for him,” Hansi Flick had stated, and they also did.
An outstanding first half was sufficient, Raphinha scoring two and Lamine Yamal changing into the youngest participant to attain and help within the Champions League, at 17 years and 241 days.
“What has occurred gave us energy,” Raphinha stated on the finish, he additionally stated that Barcelona are candidates to win this competitors, and on the proof right here that doesn’t really feel like such a leap of religion.
Benfica had been blown away, the half-time whistle coming as a reduction, an opportunity ultimately to take a second with out pink and blue shirts working at them from all over the place. It was 3-1 by then, 4-1 on mixture, and Bruno Lage’s crew had been flattered by the one. And, in reality, by the three. The shot rely learn 12-1.
The hope now much less that they may discover a approach again into it as that it is perhaps over, and so it was. There was no need for extra, Barcelona easing their solution to the end, managing the remaining 45 minutes.
From the primary minute, when Frenkie de Jong had pushed at them, there was a way of mission about Barcelona, the sport taking form then considered one of pace, open areas, and talent. Particularly when Lamine Yamal had the ball, which was typically.
Not that it was simply him. Pedri, as soon as so bodily weak, now appears invincible, a metal to go along with the smoothness. Dani Olmo detected gaps nobody else did, one way or the other all the time seeming to have room. From additional again, Alex Balde repeatedly got here bombing ahead. Raphinha was, once more, decisive.
How Benfica should be sick of the person who took his whole towards them to 5 in three video games right here. Solely Robert Lewandowski was not at his finest. Twice he obtained close to the penalty spot, the primary supplied by Lamine Yamal, the second by Olmo; each instances he would have anticipated to attain, neither time did he.
The opposite two forwards did. Barcelona took the lead on 11 minutes and misplaced it once more two minutes later nevertheless it didn’t matter. Lamine Yamal had made that first likelihood for Lewandowski, now he made the opener for Raphinha. Reducing a technique then again once more, twisting Florentino Luís’s hips, he gave the impression to be opening up his physique to bend the ball in the direction of the far nook however the shot, scuffed barely, pale rightwards, by chance turning into the proper cross for Raphinha as an alternative. The Brazilian volleyed in.
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Champions League: Inter energy previous Feyenoord
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Marcus Thuram (pictured) and Hakan Calhanoglu had been on course as Inter defeated Feyenoord 2-1 within the second leg of their Champions League last-16 tie to advance comfortably into the quarter-finals with a 4-1 mixture win.
Inter, the Serie A leaders, will face the Bundesliga desk toppers Bayern Munich, who defeated Bayer Leverkusen 5-0 on mixture, within the quarter-finals subsequent month. The three-time winners Inter final lifted the trophy in 2010, beating Bayern within the closing in a treble-winning season, and Inzaghi’s facet are nonetheless on target to repeat that feat, with a Coppa Italia semi-final additionally to come back in April.
Feyenoord got here into the sport with an uphill process after dropping 2-0 at house final week, and by the eighth minute they had been left with a mountain to climb following Thuram’s excellent solo purpose. Thuram, who additionally opened the scoring at De Kuip within the first leg, collected the ball on the left wing earlier than reducing inside with some intelligent footwork earlier than curling a shot into the far prime nook.
Mehdi Taremi despatched a shot straight on the keeper as Inter seemed to place the tie even additional out of attain however Feyenoord pulled one again three minutes earlier than the break from the penalty spot.
Calhanoglu was penalised for a foul on Jakub Moder who picked himself up and despatched his spot kick into the underside nook to beat Yann Sommer, simply the second purpose Inter have conceded on this season’s competitors, and the primary at San Siro.
Any hope of a Feyenoord comeback all however ended when Calhanoglu made up for his mistake by changing his personal penalty six minutes into the second half after Thomas Beelen fouled Taremi.
With Feyenoord taking dangers in an effort to get one thing from the sport, Inter had been all the time harmful on the counter and seemed like they’d one other penalty however after a VAR examine, Thuram was booked for simulation as an alternative.
Thuram nonetheless obtained a standing ovation from the house crowd when changed, having simply struck a thunderous shot which bounced again off the underside of the crossbar, and Inter had little bother seeing the sport out. Reuters
That they had barely completed celebrating when Nicolás Otamendi headed in from Andreas Schjelderup’s nook on the different finish, the ball reaching him off Lewandowski. So Barcelona simply did it another time, the possibilities nonetheless coming. As for Lamine Yamal, he did that.
The 17-year-old was by the nook flag when he began to maneuver. There was a shift of the hips and he escaped Tomás Araújo, getting into the penalty space on the facet and exiting it on the prime, actually reducing off the nook, area now to shoot. Solely “shot” isn’t actually the phrase for what he did subsequent, even “kick” isn’t. As an alternative, he nudged the ball, little greater than the flip of an ankle, but sufficient to one way or the other ship it 20 yards into the far nook. It curled and floated and drifted, totally intentionally, travelling nearly teasingly, as if it was waving on its well beyond Anatoliy Trubin: you possibly can look however you possibly can’t contact.
Raphinha came to visit and polished Lamine Yamal’s boot, then added the third when Balde burst up the center of the pitch and rolled the ball into his path. The end was arduous, low and unstoppable, even for the linesman whose flag was raised after which overruled by the VAR, permitting him to face atop the promoting boards, arms extensive, the second shared with this stadium.
All that prevented Barcelona including extra was the truth that they didn’t must, this was finished. It was not that there have been no probabilities within the second half – it started with Ronald Araújo heading into the side-netting and a flick from Lamine Yamal nearly releasing Olmo – however the tempo dropped, the urgency gone.
Benfica tried, after all, Vangelis Pavlidis placing straight at Wojciech Szczesny and Iñigo Martínez diving in to dam Samuel Dahl’s shot, the ball coming again off his elbow. There was a short VAR examine however no actual perception that it might result in something, these few seconds a portrait of the second interval.
Aside from Zeki Amdouni’s header being stopped on the road by Jules Koundé with 5 minutes left, largely Benfica had performed with little actual religion of one other purpose. Not least as a result of they weren’t really allowed any. Barcelona’s management remained intact, this not feeling like a contest. As an alternative, it was a homage, simply as they’d hoped it might be, devoted to the physician.
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