FC Barcelona returns to the Champions League to beat Benfica

FC Barcelona beat Benfica 5-4 in a nine-goal Champions League thriller where the Catalans completed a historic comeback to remain second in the league stage of the elite European competition.

Hansi Flick’s men went down 1-0 inside two minutes at the Estadio da Luz, with Vangelis Pavlidis taking advantage of the lack of defense to volley his effort home.

Robert Lewandowski pulled one back with a penalty in the 13th minute, but the Greek striker on the other side of the ball completed his hat-trick in just over half an hour, meaning Barca were led 3-1 at the break.

While one of his strikes may have been a soft penalty, goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny must take responsibility for the second, caused by a misjudged exit from his area which led to him crashing into left-back Alejandro Balde and to make Pavlidis’ work easier. .

About nine minutes after the break, Raphinha scored his first of the evening by directing a poor kick from Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin into his net.

However, when Ronald Araujo scored in front of his own goalkeeper by putting a Benfica cross past the Pole, leaving Barça trailing 4-2 and two goals ahead for the second time of the evening, all seemed lost.

The Blaugrana, however, had other ideas and embarked on a remontada for everyone who deserves to experience Neymar’s inspired comeback against Paris Saint-Germain in 2017.

Another Lewandowski kick reduced the advantage, before Eric Garcia latched on to a Pedri cross to finally equalize with a bullet header.

Some cagey football ensued. Yet, deep into stoppage time, a reviving Raphinha ran with everything he had on a counter-attack sparked by a thunderous clearance from Ferran Torres.

Cooly cutting inside Benfica’s last man, he left Trubin helpless and gave his side an unforgettable victory with an eighth goal in seven UCL matches this season.

Slipping to his knees in relentless torrential rain, the winger was understandably mobbed by his teammates on the pitch and off the bench, as the traveling hordes ran amok outside.

Eliminating the need to play a playoff, Barca are now automatically qualified for the knockout stage of the UCL and will finish in at least the top 8 in the championship stage.

There is only one match left to play, against Atalanta, holders of the European League, and this match will take place in Montjuic on January 29.