Lamine Yamal and Raphinha stole the show as Barcelona cruised past Benfica 3-1 on Tuesday, securing a 4-1 aggregate victory to reach the Champions League quarterfinals.
Raphinha struck twice, sandwiching a breathtaking goal from Yamal, as the Catalans dominated the first half, building on their 1-0 first-leg win in Lisbon.
Nicolas Otamendi briefly pulled Benfica level after Raphinha’s opener, but the visitors were soon overwhelmed at the Olympic Stadium, where Barcelona showcased moments of attacking brilliance.
Hansi Flick’s side now awaits Borussia Dortmund or Lille in the last eight as they chase their first Champions League crown since the Messi-Neymar-Suarez era in 2015.
Flick dedicated the win to Barcelona’s late club doctor, Carles Minarro, who died suddenly Saturday.
The players honored him with a moment of silence before kickoff.
Five-time winners Barca took the lead after 11 minutes when Spain international Yamal burst into the area, chopped his way past Florentino and then mishit the ball across to Raphinha for a simple finish.
Benfica leveled within two minutes when Otamendi escaped Ronald Araujo to head home from a corner.
Barcelona goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny excelled in the first leg as the Catalans claimed an impressive win with 10 men after Pau Cubarsí's red card but might have done more to keep out Otamendi's effort.
However, Barcelona – and particularly their wingers Yamal and Raphinha – were in sensational form and quickly reclaimed the lead.
Yamal netted his first goal in seven matches, but it was worth the wait, with the 17-year-old cutting in from the right and curling a sensational shot past Anatoliy Trubin and in at the far post from the edge of the box.
Raphinha grabbed his second before the break to give Barcelona a three-goal aggregate lead after a blistering run by Alejandro Balde.
The left-back won the ball back in his area and sliced open the Portuguese team on the counter, carrying it to the edge of Benfica's box before teeing up Raphinha.
It was the winger's 11th strike of the competition, putting him atop the scoring charts.
Bruno Lage's side was without injured midfielder Angel Di Maria, but even with him, beating Flick's Barcelona in this form would have been a tall order.
Fredrik Aursnes netted for Benfica in the second half, but the goal was disallowed for offside against Vangelis Pavlidis, who scored a hat trick in Barca’s 5-4 win when the sides met in the group stage in January.
For the most part, Benfica struggled to trouble Szczesny, and Barcelona nearly added a fourth when Frenkie de Jong poked wide on the stretch at the end of a razor-sharp team move.
Barcelona now await their quarterfinal opponent and can start preparing to visit Atlético Madrid in La Liga on Sunday in a pivotal clash in the Spanish title race.
