Barça hosts Benfica at Montjuïc for the second leg of the Champions League Round of 16. The Catalans, with a 1-0 aggregate lead, aim to secure their place in the quarter-finals with a convincing victory.
The FC Barcelona is facing one of its major missions of the 2024-2025 season. The Blaugrana return to the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys to face Benfica in the second leg of the Round of 16 of the Champions League, aiming for a convincing victory that will allow them to certify their qualification for the next round and continue their path to the sixth ‘Orejona’ after gaining a 1-0 lead in the aggregate with their win in Lisbon in the first leg.
- 📺 Times and TV: when and where to watch the match live in Spain, Europe, America, Africa, and Asia: WATCH
The team coached by Hansi Flick arrives at the match at a difficult time for the institution due to the passing of Carles Miñarro, the first team’s doctor, last Saturday. Due to this tragic event, the match between the Catalans and Osasuna for matchday 27 of LaLiga was not played, so the Catalans maintain their unbeaten streak of 16 matches in 2025, with a record of 13 wins and 3 draws. The feelings on the field are excellent for the team, which seeks a victory to honor the memory of a beloved person in the club.
The team of Bruno Lage, on the other hand, is on the rise and in their last 10 matches they have accumulated 8 victories, 1 draw, and 1 defeat (against Barça). The Portuguese dream of causing an upset and achieving a victory that, besides serving as ‘revenge’ for the pair of painful defeats suffered against the Catalans in this edition of the tournament, would allow them to advance to the next round and put an end to their ‘curse’ in the Catalan capital, where they still do not know what it is to win.
The history smiles on Barça
FC Barcelona has everything in its favor to seal its qualification for the quarter-finals of the Champions League. Both teams have faced each other a total of 11 times in the European competition, with a favorable record for the Barcelonans of 5 victories and 4 draws, against 2 wins for the ‘eagles’. At the Blaugrana’s home ground, specifically, the balance is even more uneven, as the Catalans have achieved 2 victories, 2 draws, and have never been defeated by the Lisbon team. In total, the Catalans have scored 14 goals and conceded 11 in these clashes.
In knockout rounds, the only precedent is also favorable to the Blaugrana. Both clubs faced each other again in the 2005/06 season, this time in the quarter-finals. Barça salvaged a draw in the first leg in Lisbon (0-0) and then won at Camp Nou (2-0) thanks to goals from Ronaldinho and Eto’o. The team ended up lifting that ‘Orejona’ in Paris against Arsenal (2-1).
- Final group stage of the Champions 1991/92 – Matchday 6: FC Barcelona 2-1 Benfica (April 15, 1992, at Camp Nou). Goals: 1-0, Stoichkov (min. 12); 2-0, Bakero (min. 23); 2-1, Brito (min. 27).
- Quarter-finals of the Champions 2005/06 – Second leg: FC Barcelona 2-0 Benfica (April 5, 2006, at Camp Nou). Goals: 1-0, Ronaldinho (min. 19); 2-0, Eto’o (min. 89).
- Group stage of the Champions 2012/13 – Matchday 6: FC Barcelona 0-0 Benfica (December 5, 2012, at Camp Nou).
- Group stage of the Champions 2021/22 – Matchday 5: FC Barcelona 0-0 Benfica (November 23, 2021, at Camp Nou).
On the other hand, the immediate precedents allow the Catalans to hope for a positive result. In matchday 7 of the league phase of this edition of the tournament, Flick’s team achieved a hard-fought but historic victory against Bruno Lage’s side with a legendary comeback (4-5), while in the first leg they secured a crucial victory despite playing with one man down for more than 70 minutes after the expulsion of Pau Cubarsí in the 22nd minute of the first half (0-1).
This aggregate advantage is crucial for Barça, since, except for the 2024 knockout against PSG, the team advanced in all 11 previous opportunities in which they managed to win the first leg away from home. The last favorable precedent for the Blaugrana was in the quarter-finals of the 2018/19 season, against Manchester United. Ernesto Valverde’s team won 0-1 at Old Trafford and, a week later, closed the tie at Camp Nou with a thrashing (3-0).
For Benfica, however, the situation is completely unfavorable. The Portuguese have never advanced in the Champions League after losing the first leg at home (three eliminations in three attempts) and they have also been unable to defeat Barça in four visits to Catalonia. The last precedents were two goalless draws in the group stages of the 2012/13 and 2021/22 seasons. In knockout phases, the Catalans won 2-0 in the second leg of the quarter-finals in 2005/06.
Benfica seeks to cause an upset in Barça’s ‘fortress’
The Barça finds itself in a favorable sporting scenario to make a statement. Aside from the aggregate advantage gained with the victory in Lisbon (0-1), having to define the series at home, at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, is usually an incentive for the team, especially when facing Portuguese teams.
This is supported by statistics, as according to historical metrics from the UEFA Champions League, FC Barcelona has hosted Portuguese teams in this tournament since 1992 (since the tournament has been known as the Champions League) on a total of eight occasions. In none of these encounters have they suffered a defeat, accumulating a record of six victories and two draws.
- 🏟️ Matches played: 8
- 🟢 Matches won: 6
- 🟡 Matches drawn: 2
- 🔴 Matches lost: 0
- ⚽ Goals scored: 16
- ⚽ Goals conceded: 4
However, Benfica will seek to maintain its away streak in the Champions League to cause an upset in Montjuïc. The Portuguese have played five away matches in this edition of the tournament, winning four of them (Red Star, 1-2; Monaco, 2-3 and 0-1; Juventus, 0-2) and being defeated only by Bayern Munich (1-0). In total, the Lisbon team has celebrated 8 goals in these matches and only failed to score at the Allianz Arena, conceding just 4 goals.
The Catalans, for their part, are still unbeaten in the Champions League playing at home. The Blaugrana have dominated Young Boys (5-0), Bayern (4-1), and Brest (3-0) and drew with Atalanta in the last match of the league phase (2-2), with a remarkable record of 14 goals scored and only 3 conceded, certifying Montjuïc’s status as a ‘fortress’ in continental competition. This Tuesday, the team will face a true test of fire.
Hansi Flick will go with his ‘best eleven’ to seal the passage to the quarter-finals of the Champions
The starting eleven that Hansi Flick will put on the field at Montjuïc this March 11 seems to be defined. Although the match against Osasuna was ultimately suspended due to the unfortunate passing of doctor Carles Miñarro, the coach did provide the lineup for the match with five changes compared to the one used in the first leg against Benfica last Wednesday.
The six players who repeated were Szczesny, Koundé, Cubarsí, Lamine, Olmo, and Raphinha, while Lewandowski, Balde, Pedri, Iñigo Martínez, and Frenkie de Jong would come off the bench, giving more than enough hints for what is expected this coming Tuesday. Aside from Pau’s absence, who will miss the match due to suspension, everything points to the German continuing to rely on what is becoming his ‘best eleven’.
- ℹ️ Lineups: the possible starting XI of FC Barcelona and Benfica: WATCH
Ronald Araujo would be the chosen one to accompany Iñigo in the center of defense due to the absence of the ‘2’ Catalan, while the full-backs would be covered by Koundé and Balde. Meanwhile, De Jong, Pedri, and Olmo would form the midfield, with Gavi waiting for his opportunity in the shadows, and in attack, finally, no changes are expected.
The match will be of special attention for the Basque center-back, who arrives on a yellow card warning after seeing the yellow card in the first leg for throwing his shin guard as a protest for a harsh tackle from an opponent, so if he is cautioned, he would miss the first leg of a hypothetical quarter-final in the Champions. Additionally, Koundé, Balde, Casadó, De Jong, Fermín, Ferran Torres, and Gavi all have a yellow card and if they receive another, they would be cautioned for the next round of the tournament.
Benfica arrives very conditioned for the second leg of the Round of 16
While the Catalans visit Lisbon with ‘all guns blazing’, Benfica arrives at the match under minimum conditions. The Lisbon team has up to four injured players in their squad, one of which is a very painful absence. Ángel Di María, indisputable in Bruno Lage’s lineup, is still recovering from his muscle injury, so he will also not be present in the return match against the Catalans. Additionally, Álvaro Carreras will also not be available for the Portuguese coach due to suspension from accumulated yellow cards.
To make matters worse, the Portuguese side will face the match with a large number of players on yellow card warnings in their squad. Besides the injured Bah, central defender Nicolás Otamendi, midfielders Orkun Kökçü, Barreiro, and Fredrik Aursnes, and forward Zeki Amdouni are all on the brink of suspension in the Champions League and if they receive a yellow card in the match at Da Luz, they will not be available for a hypothetical first leg of the quarter-finals, which is why the margin for error is minimal.
Barça will seek victory with special motivation
The match next Tuesday will have a special flavor for Barça. The Blaugrana squad will arrive at the match after suffering the painful loss of doctor Carles Miñarro, a key figure for the team and a highly respected and beloved figure within the institution. The Catalans will perform an exercise in resilience and seek a victory that honors the memory of the doctor in a grand way.
“It is a great loss, he was a great person and a great doctor. He was incredible for the team and for the club, he was a fundamental piece. We will miss him, but sometimes that’s life. We want to play for him, in this situation it is very important to win for him. We are ready for it. We must continue, it is our job. It is an important situation for the club and we want to do it well,” said Hansi Flick in the press conference prior to the match.
The FC Barcelona will seek to maintain its good feelings on the field and seal its passage to the quarter-finals with a convincing victory, but it will not be an easy task. Benfica arrives at the match in a positive dynamic, accumulating 8 victories, 1 draw, and only 1 defeat, precisely against the Catalans, in their last 10 matches. However, the Catalans have their sights set on the sixth ‘Orejona’ and hope to extend their unbeaten streak in 2025 to continue dreaming of lifting the trophy in Munich on May 31.
With that said, next Tuesday, at 18:45 hours, in Montjuïc, two of the clubs with the most history in the continental competition will measure forces once again with a clear objective on the horizon, making the match promise to be not suitable for the faint-hearted. Will Benfica manage to cause an upset or will Barcelona be the first team to qualify for the quarter-finals in this Champions? The answer lies on the field.
