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Barcelona dish out one of their worst halves of football after the opening whistle at the Estadio da Luz last night.
Benfica took an early lead with the first goal early in the night, but that was the only normal goal for the next hour.
Barcelona equalized from a penalty before Wojciech Szczesny collided with Alejandro Balde to give Benfica an open goal. The Polish goalkeeper then awarded a penalty which gave the hosts a 3-1 lead.
Barcelona then pulled one back after the home goalkeeper made a mistake and forced a goal onto Raphinha’s head, but Ronald Araujo continued a comedy of errors with an own goal to make it 4-2 in favor of the home team.
Lewandowski, however, pulled one back from the penalty spot after Yamal won a penalty. Eric Garcia scored the late equalizer and Raphinha closed out the game with a late strike on a counterattack to give his team the victory.
Barça Universal brings you the evaluations of the Benfica 4-5 Barcelona players.
Wojciech Szczesny: 5
A horror show by the Polish goalkeeper in which it will go down as one of the worst performances by a goalkeeper in the history of Barcelona. While Szczesny didn’t make any poor saves, his decision-making and positioning were strangely poor.
He unnecessarily went off his line and collided with Balde to gift Benfica their second goal before launching into an unnecessary challenge to gift a penalty and a third goal minutes later.
Alejandro Balde: 8
The left-back was one of Barcelona’s best players in the first half, as he held up well in defense and also made penetrating runs in the final third to stretch the hosts down the left.
He wasn’t much at fault for conceding Benfica’s second goal, as he was unexpectedly brought down by the Barcelona goalkeeper. He won the penalty for Barcelona’s initial tie.
Pau Cubarsi: 7.5
Cubarsi didn’t do much wrong against the Portuguese giants, especially since two of the three goals left him helpless in defense after Szczesny’s errors.
He was alert in his positioning and reliable as always with his distribution, but was often troubled by Benfica’s quick counterattacks that needed him to make vital split-second decisions.
Ronald Araujo: 7
Great performance by the Uruguayan star despite the goals conceded, who was attentive to Benfica’s counterattacks and cut them off on numerous occasions.
He won 100% of his duels in the first half, played a fundamental role in the game from the back and was great in his distribution in both short and long passes.
He scored an avoidable own goal to restore Benfica’s two-goal lead.
Jules Koundé: 5.5
Quite disappointing half from Kounde, who looked all over the place and was haphazard in his decisions.
He was one of the main culprits for Benfica’s early goal and allowed the hosts to counterattack down their flank with ease throughout the match.
His distribution was also relatively poor compared to recent games and it’s safe to say it was one of his more forgettable outings in recent weeks.
Marc Casado: 5
The usually reliable Casado appeared overwhelmed by Benfica’s physical presence and pressure at the Estadio da Luz, as he was largely overrun by the Portuguese midfield. I struggled to keep up with them in terms of pace or physicality.
Peter: 9
The Canary Islander controlled the match when he had the opportunity, but Barcelona’s playing situation did not help him much nor did it give him time to gain momentum in Barcelona’s favor.
He came out again in the second half as Barcelona’s best player, seeking to control the pace and break lines in his passes.
He earned a well-deserved assist for Barcelona’s eventual equalizer with a beautiful cross.
Gavi: 6.5
It wasn’t Gavi’s best performance by any means, as he struggled to get between Benfica’s lines and create a threat like he has done in previous games.
He had a great chance to score, but his volley was stopped by Anatoliy Trubin.
Lamin Yamal: 7
The young protégé was largely kept under control by Benfica’s Álvaro Carreras, who not only managed to keep Yamal calm but also offered attacking options for his team.
He was man-marked for most of the game and didn’t have time to adjust to the process. He won the second penalty of the night.
Rafinha: 8
Very quiet first half for the Brazilian, who was silenced by the local defense. By not offering him much space between the lines, Raphinha did not connect with the build-up as much as he would have liked and stayed outside the area.
He had a chance to close the gap at the end of the half, but he went wide. He got his goal after the hour when Trubin hit the ball against his head and it bounced into the Benfica goal.
He took advantage of a late counterattack to win the match for Barcelona in sensational style.
Robert Lewandowski: 8
He stepped up and calmly converted Barcelona’s penalty, but became a target for the Benfica press given his relatively poor resistance to pressure and first touch. He didn’t collapse like in previous games and acted as a pure target for Barcelona.
He took it upon himself to take a step forward in the second half from the penalty spot and converted once again to make it 4-3.
Eric García: 6.5
He came on as an impact substitute and scored the much-needed equalizer to stop the bleeding and close the match at 4-4.
