Barcelona Defeats Benfica in a Thrilling Scenario to Join Liverpool in the Round of 16
Barcelona advanced to the UEFA Champions League Round of 16 alongside Liverpool after a dramatic 5-4 victory over Benfica in Lisbon. On the same night, Liverpool secured their qualification with a 2-1 win over Lille in the seventh and penultimate round of the unified group stage.
Barcelona’s stunning comeback captured the spotlight, overturning a 2-4 deficit in the final quarter-hour to clinch the win with a last-second goal. The Catalans now have 18 points, second in the group behind leaders Liverpool, who boast a perfect record with 21 points.
Barcelona’s goals came courtesy of Robert Lewandowski (13’, 78’—both penalties), Raphinha (64’, 90+6’), and Eric García (86’). Benfica’s Vangelis Pavlidis scored a hat-trick (2’, 22’, 30’—penalty), while Ronald Araújo added an own goal (68’).
Barcelona fell behind three times during the game—0-1, 1-3, and 2-4—before emerging victorious in a chaotic finale. Benfica opened the scoring early when Álvaro Fernández delivered a precise cross into the area, which Pavlidis finished powerfully into the net just two minutes in.
“Barça” responded with a penalty kick after their left-back Álex Balde was fouled inside the area. Robert Lewandowski successfully converted the spot-kick in the 13th minute.
However, Barcelona’s Polish goalkeeper Wojciech Szczęsny committed a costly mistake by venturing too far from his goal. He failed to clear the ball after colliding with his teammate Balde, allowing Greek forward Vangelis Pavlidis to capitalize on the error and score into the empty net, restoring Benfica’s lead in the 22nd minute.
The errors from Szczęsny didn’t stop there, as he committed another blunder by fouling Turkish player Kerem Aktürkoğlu inside the box. The referee awarded Benfica a second penalty, which Pavlidis successfully converted to complete his hat-trick in the 30th minute.
Barcelona reduced the deficit with a bizarre goal as Anatoliy Trubin’s clearance reflected to Raphinha’s head and into the net (64’). Benfica then extended their lead when Araújo scored an own goal while attempting to clear a cross (68’).
The referee awarded a third penalty in the match, the second for the Catalan team, which Robert Lewandowski converted successfully in the 78th minute. This brought his tally to 8 goals in 7 matches, placing him at the top of the scoring chart and reducing the deficit to just one goal.
Shortly afterward, defender Eric García leveled the score with a header four minutes before the end of regulation time. This was followed by Raphinha scoring the winning goal in the sixth minute of added time.
Liverpool’s Unstoppable Momentum
Liverpool confirmed their dominance with a 2-1 victory over Lille, featuring goals from Mohamed Salah (34’) and Harvey Elliott (67’). Lille’s Canadian striker Jonathan David scored their lone goal (62’).
Mohamed Salah managed to score his 51st goal in the premier continental competition in 96 matches, equaling the record of former French star Thierry Henry, who occupies ninth place on the list of the all-time top scorers in the Champions League. This list is topped by Portuguese legend Cristiano Ronaldo with 141 goals.
Having achieved a perfect record by winning all seven of their matches, Liverpool raised their tally to 21 points to top the unified group standings. The “Reds” advanced to the Round of 16 in absolute fashion, leaving Lille in 11th place. Lille has been considered the surprise of the season in the competition, with notable victories over Madrid’s powerhouses Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid, 1-0 and 3-1 respectively, as well as a 1-1 draw with Juventus.
