‘I was cramping up’ – Barcelona midfield star reveals sacrifices made in hard-fought win over Benfica | OneFootball

FC Barcelona endured a very difficult night at the Estadio de la Luz in Lisbon as they faced SL Benfica in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 tie.

Ultimately, the Blaugranes were able to get a 0-1 win in this game, but they had to work very hard, as they were left with only 10 men from the 22nd minute when Pau Cubarsi was handed a red card. Despite this disadvantage, Raphinha’s goal in the second half allowed them to take advantage ahead of the second leg of this tie.

Pedri was once again immense for the Catalans in this game and got the Man of the Match award for another incredible performance. As Mundo Deportivo has reported, he also talked to the media after the match and hailed his team’s ability to get a result from this difficult night:

“What the team achieved today after the red card is really impressive. We knew how to defend and take advantage of the chances we had with Raphinha, Lamine, and Robert.”

The Barcelona midfield star revealed why he believed the red card should not have happened:

“We believe the forward committed a foul beforehand.”

Pedri also highlighted how he and his teammates were finding it difficult to keep up their intensity, but gave the required sacrifices for a result:

“Balde looked exhausted, and I was cramping up, but I knew I had to run as much as anyone because we had to hold the score for the second leg.”

The Canarian praised Wojciech Szczesny for his incredible performance between the sticks:

“It was his best game. The last time we played here, things didn’t go well for him, but today he saved us on many occasions, especially at the start of the match. He’s outstanding between the posts.”

Lastly, he expressed his satisfaction with the game but also highlighted that the job is still not done:

“We are satisfied with today’s match, but half the job is still left. We need to win at home and advance to the next round.”

While the Barcelona fans will be jubilant with this result, the team will still have to take care of the upcoming second leg next week. Hopefully, they will not make things as difficult for themselves as they did in this first leg.