Barcelona Stuns Benfica In Thrilling Nine-Goal Champions League Comeback

Barcelona staged an incredible comeback, overcoming a 4-2 deficit to defeat Benfica 5-4 at the Estádio da Luz.

Bad Start for Barcelona

The match kicked off with Benfica taking an early lead just two minutes in. A long diagonal ball found Fredrik Aursnes on the edge of the box, who expertly crossed it to Vangelis Pavlidis. The Greek striker made no mistake, firing in his second UCL goal of the season from close range.

The visitors responded quickly, earning a penalty after Tomás Araújo clipped Alejandro Balde’s heel inside the box. Robert Lewandowski, ever the cool customer, stepped up and converted the penalty with precision, marking his 86th successful penalty out of 96 attempts.

This momentary reprieve, however, was short-lived as Barcelona’s defensive frailties soon resurfaced.

A miscommunication between goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny and Balde allowed Pavlidis to capitalize, rolling the ball into an empty net for his second goal of the night. The situation worsened for Barcelona as Szczęsny brought down Kerem Aktürkoğlu in the box, leading to another penalty for Benfica.

Pavlidis completed his hat-trick, calmly converting the spot-kick and leaving Barcelona fans in despair as the scoreline read 3-1.

Glimmer of Hope

Despite the bad situation, Barcelona managed to avoid further damage for the remainder of the half. Raphinha had a golden opportunity to reduce the deficit but fired wide, missing a clear chance to capitalize on a Benfica error.

As the teams headed into the break, the atmosphere was tense, with Barcelona needing a monumental effort to turn the game.

The second half began with a renewed sense of urgency from Barcelona. Hansi Flick, the Barcelona coach, made crucial substitutions to inject fresh energy into the squad.

The breakthrough came when a routine kick from Benfica’s goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin inadvertently flew straight to Raphinha, who headed it into the net.

However, Benfica quickly responded, extending their lead to 4-2. A well-placed aerial ball from Tomás Araújo found Andreas Schjelderup, whose attempted square pass was deflected into the net by Ronald Araújo, putting Barcelona back on the back foot.

Spirited comeback from Barcelona

Refusing to accept defeat, Barcelona pressed on and won a second penalty when Nicolás Otamendi fouled Lamine Yamal in the area. Lewandowski once again took responsibility and converted the penalty, placing the ball in the same spot as before, narrowing the gap to 4-3.

As the clock ticked down, the tension reached a fever pitch. Barcelona continued to push forward, and their persistence paid off when Pedri delivered a pinpoint cross to the back post, where Eric García was waiting.

The defender headed the ball in from close range, leveling the match at 4-4.

The drama didn’t end there. Deep into injury time, Benfica had a penalty appeal turned down, which proved to be a turning point. Barcelona seized the opportunity on the counter-attack, and Raphinha scored again, sealing an astonishing 5-4 victory for the Catalan side.

This goal broke Benfica’s hearts and also significantly boosted Barcelona’s chances of advancing to the Round of 16.