The UEFA Champions League defines today the first teams to secure a spot in the quarter-finals of the 2024-2025 season, and one of the teams aiming to advance to this round will be FC Barcelona. The Blaugrana team welcomes Benfica for the second leg of the Round of 16, which will be held at the Estadi Olímpic de Montjuïc, with the aim of increasing the advantage obtained in the first leg.
In that match, a solitary goal from Raphinha in the 61st minute gave the team managed by Hansi Flick victory at Estadio da Luz against the Eagles, who, despite their efforts, could not score at home. Now, the Portuguese club will have to swim against the tide in search of achieving a true feat, a mission that proves extremely complicated, as they have never been able to defeat Barcelona away from home.
The last time Benfica visited the culé territory was in the group stage of the 2021-2022 season, when they drew without goals, a result that relegated the Blaugrana to play in the Europa League. As locals in the Champions League, the Spanish club has secured a total of two victories and two draws every time they have hosted the Eagles, while their only encounter in knockout stage matches also ended in their favor.
That tie took place in the quarter-finals of the 2005-2006 season, where the Catalans won with an aggregate score of 2-0 and ultimately went on to conquer the trophy. For this match, Hansi Flick will have almost all of his arsenal available, except for youth player Pau Cubarsí, who was sent off in the first leg. On the other hand, Benfica will once again face the absence of Ángel Di María due to injury, which will be extremely sensitive, as he is their best attacking player, making the possibility of overturning the 1-0 score even more complicated.
With this scenario, it looks like a good opportunity for Barcelona to return to the quarter-finals, as it is worth noting that last season was the first time they reached this stage since the post-Messi era; however, they lost heavily to Paris Saint Germain. For this reason, the Catalan team longs to repay that debt to their fans, as they have not reached the semi-finals since the 2018-2019 season and have gone a decade without making it to the final match.
It is worth mentioning that, with no away goals rule, Benfica must win by at least one goal to force the series into extra time or penalties, while the Blaugrana only need a draw or a win to advance to the next round.
