Barcelona duo helps the team be noticed by Europe’s biggest sports outlets – Report | OneFootball

Performing on the European stage is something that Barcelona were aiming for this season. Given how long it has been since the Catalan giants last won the UEFA Champions League, they needed to make a statement. With the help of Hansi Flick, Barcelona are now managing to make that a reality.

Their most recent victory in the competition came against SL Benfica in the Round of 16. After managing a 1-0 victory in the first leg despite being a man down, this second leg was a chance for Barcelona to showcase their best version and that is exactly what they tried to do.

By securing a 3-1 win in the second leg, 4-1 on aggregate, Barcelona now continue to stay alive in the Champions League. However, like previous games in the competition, this match also saw two particular Barcelona stars shine bright and hurt Benfica in this game.

Raphinha and Lamine Yamal, two of Europe’s most dangerous and in-form forwards right now, delivered exceptional performances which have not gone unnoticed. As highlighted by Mundo Deportivo, this recent win has now put Barcelona on the map in terms of being labelled as competition favorites by some of the biggest news outlets across Europe.

Over in Portugal, the country where Benfica hails from, outlets such as O Jogo, A Bola, and Record have all emphasized the impressive attacking prowess of Barça’s two wingers. Moreover, their headlines also establish that Benfica really could not do much against a team that was superior to them in that tie.

Similarly, over in Germany, even as the main focus was on the game between Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen, the Barcelona game was also highlighted. Outlets such as SportBild and Kicker both commended Barça’s current level and suggested that they could be among the top favorites if they continue to play like this.

Italy was no different, even though attention was primarily directed towards the game between Serie A side Inter Milan and Feyenoord. La Gazzetta dello Sport highlighted the game between Barcelona and Benfica as the ‘Raphinha and Lamine Yamal show’, and Tuttosport praised both players and others as well.

Even in France, where most of the eyes were on the big game between PSG and Liverpool, L’Equipe highlighted the strong performance from Barcelona as well. Over in England as well, major outlets such as Daily Mail, BBC, and Daily Mirror also focused on the performances of the two Barcelona stars as the Catalan side dismantled Benfica.