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The match between Barcelona and Benfica in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday night couldn’t have been stranger than it turned out.
That night nine goals were scored, three of them from penalties. Two goals were created by flagrant errors by goalkeepers, while one was an own goal.
Barcelona never seemed to be on track to win the match against the Portuguese giants and were trailing for most of the game.
However, a late turnaround helped them seal a last-gasp victory with Raphinha scoring the winning goal on a fierce counter-attack, giving Barcelona three points against the run of play.
Barça Universal brings you three talking points from Benfica – Barcelona 4-5.
The Szczesny Howler
Despite what the final score says, Barcelona were very bad all over the field last night and very few players put in a positive performance.
It’s safe to call last night’s first half at the Estadio da Luz Barcelona the worst half of the season, and it’s ironic how the same match will be remembered as one of the most special victories of the season.
Of all the players representing the shield, Wojciech Szczesny had the most disappointing outing.
The Polish goalkeeper started the night ahead of Iñaki Peña, but looked shaky from the start. In the end, it was his series of errors that led Barcelona into the soup in which they finally landed.
Just in the 22nd minute against Benfica, the goalkeeper unnecessarily left his area to recover a ball that Alejandro Balde was coming straight towards him. Szczesny’s unexpected run caught the defender off guard and both players fell to the ground after colliding.
The ball, which fell directly at the feet of the Benfica striker, gave the hosts the lead and the goal opened a few minutes after Robert Lewandowski’s equalizer.
Eight minutes after making the mistake, the goalkeeper again brought down Kerem Akturkoglu in the box and awarded a penalty, giving Benfica a 3-1 lead and wasting the momentum his team had built.
While the Polish goalkeeper has shown promise this season, his two errors last night along with his sending off against Real Madrid make it clear that he needs to improve his decision making.
Mentality of kings
Barcelona are not usually a team associated with achieving victories in games they have not dominated, but last night’s performance added that feather to Hansi Flick’s title.
The Catalans struggled against Benfica’s low block throughout the 90 minutes and even had a two-goal deficit for most of the match. However, they never gave up and their determination to keep fighting is a high praise for Flick’s work.
Despite being behind on the scoreboard, under pressure from Benfica’s attack and with the crowd against them in Portugal, Barcelona continued to press in the final third.
A penalty won by Lamine Yamal put the team within a goal of Benfica, and with just five minutes left on the clock, Barcelona still pushed to find the equalizer which Pedri and Eric García eventually achieved.
Instead of settling for a draw after the close clash, Barcelona found the energy to push for a winning goal also in the final attack of the game and their mental resilience paid off when Raphinha executed the counterattack with surgeon-like precision.
A special mention for Pedri, who was sensationally good for the ninety minutes on a night when all his teammates seemed to be struggling.
It was his control and vision that created numerous opportunities for the club and, rightly, his assist that gave Barcelona the fourth equalizing goal.
Top 8 assured
Hansi Flick and company will take the three points regardless of the team’s performance. It may not have been a pretty victory, but the three points they conceded are worth their weight in gold.
With 18 points from seven games so far, Barcelona are second in the table and have secured their place in the top eight.
The eighth-placed team, Aston Villa, has 13 points and will only be able to add a total of 16 points if they win the last game of the league phase.
Mathematically, Barcelona has thus secured a place in the top eight and direct qualification to the round of 16.
The biggest relief for Flick’s men, of course, is that they will no longer have to participate in the knockout round and will thus be spared two more games in the hectic schedule.
With progression in the Champions League, Barcelona can direct its resources and attention to La Liga, where it desperately needs points at least until its round of 16 match begins.
