Barcelona, Spain-Barcelona’s 3-1 victory against Benfica at the Olympic stadium on Tuesday started with a minute of silence for Carles Miñarro, the team doctor who died this weekend, and ended with fans singing for Raphinha To win the Ballon d’Or.
The Brazilian scored twice while Barça reached the quarter -finals of the UEFA Champions League for the second consecutive year after failing to get out of the group phase in the previous two years. This is the last sign that Hansi Flick transformed them into a team to take seriously on the European scene.
Raphinha is not their only threat, however. Lamine Yamal marked the other objective, a brilliant individual effort after Nicolás Otamendi briefly leveled for Benfica at night, while Barça increased 4-1 on the total. They will meet Borussia Dortmund or Lille in the next round.
“I said before the match, we wanted to honor Carles’ memory,” said Flick at the press conference after the match.
“After what happened, I think it’s good to win for him. Carles is always with us. It’s like that. He will always have a place in our team.”
Miñarro had been at the club for eight years and joined the staff of the first team last summer. He died at the Team hotel on Saturday, with his cause of death not yet officially announced and the Laliga match against Osasuna that night was postponed.
The majority of the Barça team attended an alarm clock for Miñarro on Monday, and its funeral took place on the morning of the Benfica match. A club delegation, led by President Joan Laporta and the wounded goalkeeper Marc-André Ter StegenAssisted.
As a mark of respect, the flags of Spain, Catalonia and Barça at the Olympic stadium stole in half of the staff and there was a minute of silence before kick -off. Then, Raphinha, Yamal and their teammates began to do what they did better than any other team this season: scoring goals.
“We entered this even more determined match to win after the death of Carles,” Raphinha told journalists after the match.
It quickly became clear. Yamal’s quick feet transformed two defenders inside to install Raphinha for a first 11th minute game. Otamendi’s header in a corner level, but Yamal has categorically responded. By picking up the ball on the right side, he entered inside and whipped an unstoppable strike inside the post with his diabolically good left foot. He had similarities with the goal he scored for Spain against France in the semi-finals at the European Championship last summer.
At 17 and 241 days old, he became the second largest player to score in the stages with direct elimination of the Champions League. Bojan Krkić, the youngest and who is now one of the behind the scenes of Barça, watched from the stands.
It was the 12th goal of Yamal’s season in all competitions to go with her 17 assists. These are impressive figures – but they are nothing on Raphinha.
The former Leeds United winger marked his second of the night when Alejandro Balde After a quick counterattack just before the break to remove Benfica’s tie. He now has a record of 11 goals in 10 games from the Champions League. No Brazilian marked so much in the same edition of the tournament.
In total, he has 46 goals in all competitions. His goals also came into large games: three games in two against Real Madrid; A hat trick against Bayern Munich; A goal against Borussia Dortmund; And now five in three games with Benfica.
He eclipses the 20 goals he has managed through all of his first two seasons with Barça. It is not surprising that fans started singing for him to give him the Ballon d’Or this year.
If Raphinha or Yamal do not mark, Robert Lewandowski generally the fact. He has 34 goals in all competitions this season. Barça has 128. Paris Saint-Germain ranks second in the best five leagues in Europe. They had marked 108 before Tuesday’s match against Liverpool.
Here is the thing, however, there is the real possibility that none of them is the player of the Barça season. This price could easily go to the midfielder Painterwhich produced another sublime performance, bringing it the UEFA MVP trophy at the end of a second half in which Barça exercised control thanks to the relentless pressure and the composed possession.
Pedri was everywhere last week when Barça, up to 10 men for more than an hour, won a 1-0 victory in the first leg in Lisbon. This was the case again on Tuesday. A brilliant piece of defense recovery in the 20th minute attracted the first cries of “Pedri”.
“He is able to win the ball,” said Flick. “I am also really surprised on this subject, but it is 100% in shape and it is good to see what it does with the ball, but also without the ball is incredible.”
Six minutes later, Pedri’s name was still resolved in the stadium, this time after an incredibly good pass in the area.
“He is in the right position at the moment and for me, in this position, he is the best in the world,” added Flick.
However, this game did not really concern Raphinha, Yamal or Pedri. It was a game to remember Miñarro.
“It was complicated a few days after what happened on Saturday,” Pedri told journalists. “We want to send our support to the family and friends of Carles. We will try to win everything for him.”
Winning everything would be a tribute. It is also plausible. Barça directed Laliga with a match in hand, is in the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey and are now in the last eight of the Champions League. They have already won the Spanish Supercopa and have been undefeated in 17 games since the beginning of 2025.
Dani Olmo is again in good shape; Jong Frenkie has recovered his confidence; Balde is in fine form; Jules Koundé is consistent; Pau Cubarsí,, Ronald Araujo And Iñigo Martínez are reliable central back options; And Wojciech Szczęsny has not tasted his defeat since he joined the team in January.
The assembly evidence prevented Raphinha from denying that they are “candidates to win all the trophies” this season, although Flick refuses to get carried away.
“I think it’s good that players think about it,” he said about Raphinha’s comments. “It shows that they have confidence and that they believe in what we do. But my job is to stay calm and think about the next match.”
