It was a mammoth performance from Barcelona to defeat Benfica 1-0 in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie, especially considering that Hansi Flick’s side were forced to play over 10 minutes with 10 men after Pau Cubarsi saw red early on for a last man challenge on Vangelis Pavlidis.
Raphinha’s second half strike ensured that Barcelona will start with a one-goal advantage for Tuesday’s return leg at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys, although the performance in Lisbon did not come without sacrifice. Alejandro Balde suffered an ankle injury during the match, for which he will need to undergo medical tests, and now Marca have reported that two more players ended the encounter at the Estadio da Luz with physical problems.
Inigo Martinez suffered a stamp to his leg during the first half – which went unpunished, and because of that, the veteran defender was yellow-carded by referee Felix Zwayer for complaining. He is still suffering with the after-effects of that, and he could be rested against Osasuna on Saturday in order to ensure that he is at 100% for the second leg.
The report has stated that Pedri also suffered with muscular discomfort, and he is another that is not expected to be risked against Osasuna. Hansi Flick is likely to make significant changes for the La Liga encounter at the Estadi Olimpic, with the likes of Marc Casado, Eric García, Gerard Martín, Gavi and Ferran Torres set to be included in the starting line-up to face Los Rojillos.
Occasions like this are the reason that teams like Barcelona have a big first team squad. Flick will be determined to have his “gala XI”, Cubarsi aside, ready to start the second leg against Atalanta, and as a result, many players could be given the weekend off from playing.
