Yamal, Raphinha shine in emotional win for Barcelona - ESPN

BARCELONA, Spain — Barcelona's 3-1 win against Benfica at the Olympic Stadium on Tuesday started with a minute of silence for Carles Miñarro, the team doctor who died over the weekend, and ended with fans chanting for Raphinha to win the Ballon d'Or.

The Brazilian scored twice as Barça reached the UEFA Champions League quarterfinals for the second successive year after failing to get out of the group stage in the two preceding years. It is the latest sign that Hansi Flick has turned them into a team to be taken seriously on the European stage again.

Raphinha is not their only threat, though. Lamine Yamal netted the other goal, a brilliant individual effort after Nicolás Otamendi had briefly leveled for Benfica on the night, as Barça advanced 4-1 on aggregate. They will meet either Borussia Dortmund or Lille in the next round.

«I said before the match we wanted to honor the memory of Carles,» Flick said in the postgame news conference.

«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 had joined the first team's staff last summer. He died at the team hotel Saturday, with his cause of death not yet officially announced and the LaLiga game against Osasuna that night was postponed.

The majority of Barça's squad attended a wake for Miñarro on Monday, and his funeral took place on the morning of the Benfica game. A delegation from the club, led by president Joan Laporta and injured goalkeeper Marc-André ter Stegen, attended.

As a mark of respect, the Spain, Catalonia and Barça flags at the Olympic Stadium flew at half-staff and there was a minute of silence before kickoff. Then Raphinha,