Barcelona pulled off an incredible comeback at Estádio da Luz, recovering from 4-2 down to win 5-4 in a thrilling UEFA Champions League match.
Benfica, desperate for a win after a poor run, stunned Barcelona early. Just two minutes in, Fredrik Aursnes crossed for Vangelis Pavlidis to score. Barcelona quickly equalised when Robert Lewandowski converted a penalty after Tomás Araújo fouled Alejandro Balde in the box.
Benfica regained the lead with a mistake from Barcelona goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny, who charged out of his box and collided with Balde, allowing Pavlidis to score into an empty net. Szczęsny’s night got worse when he fouled Kerem Aktürkoğlu, leading to Pavlidis completing his hat-trick with another penalty.
Barcelona had some chances, including a miss from Raphinha, but they struggled in the first half. After the break, they came out strong, with a misdirected kick from Benfica’s goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin going into the net off Raphinha’s head to bring Barcelona within a goal.
Trophée mérité pour Raphinha 🏆 pic.twitter.com/TvEu6ViKll
— FC Barcelona (@fcbarcelona_fra) January 21, 2025
Benfica then made it 4-2 with an own goal from Ronald Araújo, but Barcelona refused to give up. Lewandowski converted his second penalty of the night, and with the score at 4-3, they pushed for an equaliser. It came when Pedri crossed for Eric García to head in at the back post.
In injury time, a Benfica penalty shout was turned down, and Raphinha sealed Barcelona’s win with a counter-attack goal, leaving Benfica’s hopes of direct qualification hanging by a thread and securing Barcelona’s place in the knockout stages.
