Yamal, Raphinha star as Barca breeze into last eight

 Teenager, Lamine Yamal, was once again the star of the show as Barcelona beat Benfica to progress to the quar­ter-finals of the Champions League.

The 17-year-old provided a brilliant assist for Raphinha to open the scoring before topping that with a stunning strike to put Barca 2-1 ahead on the night and 3-1 on aggregate.

Nicolas Otamendi’s excellent header had cancelled out Ra­phinha’s opener but Benfica’s hopes were ended by Yamal’s brilliance, before Raphinha struck again with

 a clinical finish into the bottom corner.

There was confusion over whether Raphinha’s second initially stood, as play appeared to be pulled back for a foul by Otamendi on the edge of the box.

But after a check by the video assistant referee (VAR) the goal was confirmed, and Otamendi’s yellow card rescinded.

While Yamal caught the eye with his brilliant pieces of play, Ra­phinha also deserves plaudits as his double means he has contributed to 16 goals in the Champions League

 this season.

Only Lionel Messi (14 goals, five assists in 2011-12) has had a hand in more goals in a single sea­son for Barcelona in the competi­tion than Raphinha this season (11 goals, five assists).

Barca could have won by an even bigger margin but Frenkie de Jong missed a golden chance to add a fourth on the night, firing wide from close range after a lovely move.

Hansi Flick’s side will face Borussia Dortmund or Lille in the quarter-finals. —BBC