Pau Cubarsi has been one of Barcelona’s standout players in all competitions this season, however, last night will be a game for him to forget on a personal note.

In the 21st minute, Benfica’s Vangelis Pavlidis broke through the defence and was 1v1 with Wojciech Szczęsny.

That is when Cubarsi challenged the Greek striker from behind, not winning the ball and eventually being sent off. 

There were question marks about a potential foul on Frenkie de Jong in the build-up, however, VAR checked it and deemed there was not enough contact.

Due to this decision, Hansi Flick’s side had to dig deep and play with 10 men for 70 minutes, and thanks to a goal from Raphinha, Barca managed to come away with a 1-0 victory.

Pau Cubarsi devastated after Benfica red card

Despite winning, Barca’s Man of the Match, Pedri, spoke about how the young Spanish defender is ‘devastated’ about the incident.  

“Cubarsí told us that he was devastated because of the red card,” Pedri revealed in an interview after the game, cited by Managing Barca.

“It’s complicated, but we’re going to support him in the dressing room. We are happy with him.”

Thankfully Cubarsi’s challenge did not make a difference but without Raphinha’s goal and Szczęsny’s heroic performance in the net, it could have been a costly decision.

The La Masia graduate is still young and this will be looked at as a valuable learning experience, something most defenders have to experience. Hopefully, he just does not repeat it any time soon.