CNN
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There’s usually an overabundance of drama in the Champions League, but it’s rarely quite the same as Tuesday night’s match in Lisbon.
The thrilling match between Benfica and Barcelona featured nine goals, a sensational comeback and some of the most woeful defending in the competition so far. In the end, it was Barça who won 5-4 in a breathless match and decided to advance to the knockout stage, but the winning goal was disallowed due to a controversial refereeing decision in the second half.
Leading 4-2 with 12 minutes remaining, Benfica were looking for an important win to improve their chances of progressing to the second half of the competition. However, Robert Lewandowski’s second penalty, Eric Garcia’s header and Rafinha’s 96th-minute counter-attack resulted in a stunning comeback for the Blaugrana, who managed to claim their sixth Champions League win of the season. I tore it off.
Meanwhile, Benfica’s players were furious that Rafinha’s goal was allowed. Moments earlier, Fermín López appeared to push Leandro Barreiro from behind inside Barça’s box, but a VAR review ruled that a penalty should not have been awarded. The goal was conceded and the frenetic match came to an abrupt end.
“It’s good to see the team’s mentality, how they always believe in themselves,” Barcelona coach Hansi Flick told reporters. “It’s unbelievable. I was very happy with one point, but in the end we got three points, which of course was much better.”
Unsurprisingly, Benfica manager Bruno Large had a very different reaction, shouting and gesticulating at the players gathered on the pitch after the game.
Fangelis Pavlidis put the home team ahead after just two minutes with a close-range shot, but Lewandowski quickly converted the first penalty of the game after Tomas Araujo found himself at the feet of Alejandro Balde. I wrote it off.
Two Benfica goals followed in the first half, the first of which came after a disastrous mistake by Barça goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny – running off his line, missing the ball and colliding with Balde – Pavlidis curling the ball into the open net. is.
The Greek international completed his hat-trick within 30 minutes from the penalty spot after Szczesny, who was having an unforgettable game, came off his line again and failed to deal with a spilled ball.
Fortunately for the Spanish giants, both keepers gifted their opponents with goals. In a bizarre moment midway through the second half, the crowd was stunned into silence as Anatoly Trubin smashed a clearance into Rafinha’s head and the ball bounced into the net.
This made it 3-2, but another defensive error – this time when Barça defender Ronald Araujo pushed the ball into his own net – gave Benfica a two-goal lead. .
But the game’s most dramatic development was yet to come. Lewandowski scored his second penalty (his 103rd goal in the Champions League) to nearly turn Barcelona around, and the Catalans equalized when Pedri looped a perfect cross over Garcia’s head.
With rain pouring down inside the Estadio da Luz, Benfica pressed hard to score the winning goal. But in doing so, and despite the penalty decision not yet coming, Raphinha exposed the sparseness of the home side’s rearguard effort, turning inside the defender and smashing in the dramatic final goal. was completed.
Barça are already likely to advance to the last 16 of this season’s Champions League, but a victory for Barça would automatically guarantee them a place in the next round. The competition’s new format sees the top eight teams advance straight to the knockout stages, with the next 16 teams taking part in a play-off system to compete for the next eight spots.
Having fallen behind rivals Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid in La Liga, Barcelona fans will be hoping for a strong showing in Europe to revitalize the season.
Liverpool maintain perfect record
In other games, Liverpool made the perfect start to the revamped Champions League with a 2-1 win over French side Lille.
Mohamed Salah scored the 50th goal of his Liverpool career in Europe with a stunning first goal from a through ball from Curtis Jones, but had a perhaps more direct chance towards the end of the first half. I couldn’t.
The mistake didn’t seem to matter to the Reds, who were in control of the game and Les Dogues defender Aissa Mundy was sent off for a second yellow card, but the home side continued on their way to victory. Ta. But Lille bounced back and found an unexpected equalizer minutes later with Jonathan David’s goal, which was Canada’s fifth Champions League goal this season.
The draw was just a blip in Liverpool’s impressive European campaign, but Harvey Elliott’s deflected shot ensured the Reds’ winning streak continued under Arne Slott.
According to Opta, the Dutch manager is the second manager to win seven Champions League matches with his club, following Flick, who was in charge at Bayern Munich from 2019 to 2021.
The win ensured Liverpool will advance to the last 16, but Barcelona’s late victory means they are still in the hunt for top spot at the league stage.
Monaco 1-0 Aston Villa
Atalanta 5-0 Sturm Graz
Atletico Madrid 2-1 Bayer Leverkusen
Benfica 4-5 Barcelona
Red Star Belgrade 2-3 PSV
Liverpool 2-1 Lille
Club Brugge 0-0 Juventus
Slovakia Bratislava 1-3 Stuttgart
Bologna 2-1 Borussia Dortmund
