Benfica 4-5 Barcelona: Player ratings as controversial Raphinha winner decides thriller

90min

·21 Januari 2025

Benfica 4-5 Barcelona: Player ratings as controversial Raphinha winner decides thriller

Barcelona staged an exceptional and controversial late comeback to beat Benfica 5-4 in the Champions League on Tuesday evening.

A 96th-minute effort from Raphinha won the contest for the Catalans as Benfica were left furious after believing they should have been awarded a penalty at the other end moments before the Brazilian stormed up the pitch and scored the decisive goal.

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The opening stages epitomised the duality of the Spanish heavyweights, with lackadaisical defending allowing Vangelis Pavlidis to break the deadlock before Robert Lewandowski's composed spot kick provided the equaliser.

But there was nothing nuanced about Wojciech Szczesny's performance at the Estadio da Luz as the Polish goalkeeper endured a dismal opening half-hour. A calamitous collision with Barcelona left-back Alejandro Balde gifted Pavlidis his second of the match, before Szczesny handed Benfica the penalty from which the Greek striker secured his hat-trick.

Barcelona reduced the deficit after the hour mark with an unconventional effort, Raphinha deflecting Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin's misjudged pass beyond the Ukrainian from outside the penalty area.

Barcelona's comeback hopes appeared short-lived as Benfica restored their two-goal lead, with Ronald Araujo poking into his own net from Andreas Schjelderup's near-post cross as another individual error proved costly for the visitors.

But Benfica were on hand to gift Barcelona another route back into proceedings as Alvaro Carreras conceded the home side's second penalty of the evening. Lewandowski, who had converted from the spot in the first half, made no mistake in securing his brace after sending Trubin in the wrong direction.

Barcelona eventually secured a dramatic equaliser as they piled pressure on their hosts, Eric Garcia heading home in the 86th minute to spare their blushes, but there was still time for more drama in Portugal.

Leandro Barreiro was arguably pushed in the penalty area in stoppage time before Raphinha raced up the other end of the pitch to fire Barcelona in front for the first time in the match, but referee Danny Makkelie and VAR were unmoved as the visitors secured a controversial and staggering victory.