"We have to focus on the second leg"

Barcelona midfielder Pedri Gonzalez, who was named Player of the Match in the 'Cules' 1-0 win over Benfica in Lisbon, expressed his satisfaction with the victory, although he recalled that “half the work is still to be done”.

“We have been able to defend and we have capitalised on the one we had up top,” said Pedri in statements to 'Movistar +'. The Spanish midfielder has been especially pleased because the Catalan team had to play with one player down from the 22nd minute due to Pau Cubarsi's send-off.

“When we were down to ten men, we knew what we had to do. We had to stay together at the back, defend as a block and take advantage of the chances we had up front with Rapha's intensity, Lamine's quality and Lewandowski,” he insisted.

He also commented on the action prior to Cubarsi's sending off, in which Barcelona claimed a foul. “We were claiming a push on Frenkie de Jong. The truth is that I have not seen it repeated, I do not know what to tell you, but well, live, it seems to me a foul, but if it has not been called...”, he said.

In the final part, Pedri ended up with physical problems, like many of his teammates, due to the intensity of the match and having played with ten players for many minutes.

“We knew we had to help the team, we had to run like everyone else and I'm very happy for the victory, but there's still another game to go,” he admitted.

He also praised  the great performance of Barcelona goalkeeper Szczęsny, who made up to 8 saves. “The last time he played here, he didn't leave here very happy, but he has saved many for us, especially one in the first half,” he added.

Pedri considers that the Polish goalkeeper is “very big” and was very good under the posts. “We are satisfied with the way the match went, but we still have half the work to do to get through the round,” he recalled.

 

March 5, 2025