Barcelona win over Benfica was a step in the right direction – Analysis | OneFootball

Red cards happen in football. Sometimes, they are the right decision. Sometimes, you just get hard done by. However, just like goals, assists and everything else is a part of the game, being sent-off is something that happens now and then too.

On Wednesday night, FC Barcelona and specifically, Pau Cubarsi was shown a red card just 22 minutes into the game after mistiming a last-ditch challenge. It was a fraction of a second late, but at this level, that’s all the margin for error there is.

This put Barcelona in a perilous position in an important away Champions League game and threatened to derail their entire campaign. The most ardent Blaugrana fans would have had PTSD from the night not so long ago when Ronald Araujo was sent off against PSG at the Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium last season and it all came crashing down.

Thus, one cannot fault anyone for fearing the worst when Cubarsi was sent off. At just 18 years of age, he has been almost flawless for Barcelona in his relatively short career and this was probably the first time that he made a mistake. Having a young squad, Hansi Flick would have to be prepared for this now and then.

Flick did not waste time in making a substitution, bringing on Ronald Araujo for Cubarsi. The Uruguayan defender was the culprit last season against PSG and now had a difficult task of helping Barcelona out despite being a man down against a tough team.

Crucially, one thing that the German coach did differently to what Xavi Hernandez did on the night was to sacrifice a midfielder and leave the attack intact, whereas the Spanish tactician took Lamine Yamal off, which killed their entire threat on the counter.

While this in particular did not make the difference, one will have to admit that the player’s mentality from the PSG game last season to the Benfica game this Wednesday was as different as night and day. They fought for every ball, put their body on the line and ensured that the Portuguese side were made to work for a goal that they never got.

Of course, all the hope was that Barcelona could somehow hold Benfica on for a draw and then take the tie back to Lluís Companys Olympic Stadium next week when they will be playing with 11 players. However, the team did one better, creating chances frequently and taking one of them through Raphinha to ensure they actually have a lead going into next week.

To say each and every Barcelona player on the pitch worked their socks off against Benfica would be an understatement. The work rate displayed by the team was incredible and Raphinha in particular seemed to be covering the work load of two players for the entire time.

Ronald Araujo and Inigo Martinez stood like walls in central defence with the former in particular thriving in a game state that was suited for his abilities. All the Uruguayan defender had to do was do some in-the-box, old-fashioned, no-nonsense defending and he did just that.

If the duo were a wall, Wojciech Szczesny behind them stood like the Great Wall of China. The ex-Juventus goalkeeper who came out of retirement to play for Barcelona put in one of the most dominant goalkeeping displays in the Champions League in recent times.

Jules Kounde almost doubled down as an extra centre-back but ensured he kept getting forward whenever afforded the opportunity. Alejandro Balde did what he does best, breaking two-three lines of pressure with sometimes unstoppable dribbling.

Frenkie de Jong, who was partially at fault for the move that led to the red card (although he must have been given the foul in his favour) showed tactical discipline and the ability to shield the ball, carry it out and run the midfield alongside Pedri.

Coming to Pedri, the Spanish midfielder was a cheat code whenever Barcelona wanted to escape pressure. He kept evading opposition players like they were not existent and showcased his defensive acumen, winning seven ground duels on the night.

Finally, coming to the man of the night – Raphinha who showed incredible mentality to emerge as the match-winner against Benfica at Estadio da Luz for the second time this season. He has been the single most effective player for the team in the important moments.

Hansi Flick also deserves credit for the way he was proactive with his second-half changes. He took Lamine off for Ferran Torres when he needed more defensive support on the wings, brought on Marc Casado for Frenkie just when the latter was tiring out and used Gerard Martin to close out the game.

By no means was it the scintillating display that one has come to expect of Hansi Flick’s Barcelona so far this season. However, what they managed to do was no normal feat and a huge step in the right direction for the important games.

The single biggest success of Hansi Flick has been his ability to transform the mentality of this team, and they now look unfazed on the biggest of occasions on European nights. If Barcelona go on to make a deep run in this season’s Champions League, this Benfica game will be looked back at with immense pride, and let’s wait and see how it plays out.