What a night in Lisbon! Some matches are difficult to describe, and tonight’s, in a rainy Estádio da Luz, was exactly one of those matches. FC Barcelona won three points in spectacular fashion after beating Benfica 4-5 with a return that seemed impossible the team losing 4-2 after 77 minutes. Flick’s Barca side showed character, fight and resilience after falling behind after 2 minutes and never missed the task at hand in a match they were losing 3-1 midway through. time.
Two penalties from Lewandowski, a header from Eric Garcia and a double from Raphinha – including the winner in injury time – completed a return which allows FC Barcelona to mathematically qualify for the round of 16 of the Champions League. Simply incredible.
A goal each
A very lively start to the match in Lisbon. Benfica quickly came out of the blocks and took the advantage from their first foray into the Blaugrana area. Left-back Álvaro Carreras crossed for Vangelos Pavlidis to finish, and the latter would become the home side’s hero in the first half.
They almost scored another a few minutes later, but it was Barça who scored next to equalize. Tomas Araujo committed a foul on Balde in the area, and Lewandowski stepped up to send the penalty to make it 1-1.
Pavlidis’s hat-trick
Gavi then had the chance to give the Blaugranes the lead, but couldn’t beat home goalkeeper Trubin. On the other hand, Benfica made the most of its attacks on the FC Barcelona goal. They had a bit of luck along the way, however, as Szczesny and Balde collided outside the box after a ball into space after 22 minutes, and Pavlidis scored into an open goal.
Barça’s bad luck continued, as the referee awarded Aktürkoglu a penalty as Szczesny came out to intercept it. Pavlidis was back in action to complete his hat-trick after half an hour.
Neither Flick nor the players believed it, but they rolled up their sleeves at the end of the first half. After regaining possession high up the field, Raphinha had the opportunity to reduce the lead, but his shot went wide. Halftime score 3-1.
From 3-1 to 4-2
Barca came out strong after the break, but Benfica were tight in defense and defended well. It was at this point that the home team experienced its own bad luck, when goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin attempted a long pass and Raphinha managed to deflect the ball directly in front of him with his head to make the score 3-2.
It seemed to be the turning point Barca needed, but Benfica scored again three minutes later to extend the lead to 4-2. It was a matter of luck once again, as Ronald Araujo diverted a cross from the left into his own goal as he attempted to clear the danger.
Push all the way
It wasn’t looking good at the time, but Barça showed their mental strength, as despite being two goals ahead, Benfica continued to close ranks in defense, and with the rain falling, the match wrapped up for an epic finale in Lisbon. . And so it happened. Lewandowski scored another penalty to make it 4-3, after Alvaro Carreras beat Lamine Yamal. It was only the 77th minute and the comeback was underway.
Crazy climax
The Blaugranes felt an equalizer was in sight and it came in the 86th minute. A short corner saw Pedri swing in a wonderful cross met by the head of the onrushing substitute. Eric Garcia. Barça were playing a sort of 3-3-4 system from the 4-2 score, with Fermín and Lamine Yamal providing the space, and it paid off.
The job was done, Barça could leave with a valuable point, but this crazy match in Portugal still had another chapter to write. Ángel Di María scored first on goal and Szczesny saved with his foot. Benfica then had a few chances to score, plus a penalty, but MVP Raphinha staged a quick counter-attack to bring the final score to 4-5 and complete an incredible comeback in Lisbon.
