Barcelona returned with a valuable victory from the field of their Portuguese hosts, Benfica, with a 1-0 win in the match that took place at the Stadium of Light on Wednesday evening in the first leg of the Round of 16 of the Champions League.
With this victory, Barcelona is now close to qualifying for the quarter-finals, provided they avoid losing in the return leg next Tuesday at Montjuïc, where a draw of any kind will be enough to secure qualification.
Related topics
According to information from the Spanish newspaper “El Nacional,” Hansi Flick is very pleased with this victory, which brings Barcelona closer to the quarter-finals after an epic match in which the Catalan team displayed great character and mentality.
Flick praised Barcelona’s star and hero of the match, Szczesny, acknowledging the Polish goalkeeper’s critical role in securing the Catalan team’s victory through his fantastic saves. He told him after the match: “This victory was achieved thanks to your presence with us tonight. What a player you are.”
The newspaper reported that Flick was amazed by the excellent performance of Barcelona midfielder Pedri, whom he regarded as the best player on the field after Szczesny. Pedri played a historic match, covering every inch of the field to make up for the numerical deficit Barcelona faced from the start of the match. In the locker room, Flick told him: “I’m lucky to have a player like you on my team.”
Despite his great joy at the victory, the German coach was angry with the performance of Barcelona’s left-back, Alejandro Balde, and asked him to focus in the coming period and return to his best form, otherwise, he would give Gerard Martin his place in the starting lineup.
In an unexpected development, Barcelona president Joan Laporta came down immediately after the match and went to congratulate the German coach and players on this epic victory.
The newspaper added that Laporta specifically approached Barcelona’s star and the hero of the night, Polish goalkeeper Szczesny, and told him: “Flick was right to give you confidence and rely on you. You saved the team from a certain defeat tonight.”
