FC Barcelona pulled off a spectacular comeback on Tuesday in the seventh matchday of the UEFA Champions League, defeating Benfica 5-4 in a thrilling and unpredictable match at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon.
The game started electrifyingly when Benfica’s Vangelis Pavlidis opened the scoring in the 2nd minute, netting his first goal of the match. However, Barcelona quickly responded, with Robert Lewandowski converting a penalty in the 13th minute to equalize.
Shortly after, a mistake by the opposing goalkeeper allowed Pavlidis to score his second goal, putting Benfica ahead once again. At the 30-minute mark, Pavlidis completed his hat-trick with another penalty, leaving Barcelona with a two-goal deficit at halftime.
In the second half, things took a turn for the worse for the Catalans when Ronald Araújo scored an own goal in the 64th minute, increasing Benfica’s lead to 4-1. However, Barcelona refused to give up. Raphinha capitalized on another goalkeeper error, scoring Barcelona’s second goal in the 68th minute, initiating the comeback.
As the match progressed, Lewandowski reappeared to score his second goal in the 78th minute, pulling Barcelona within one goal. In the final minutes, defender Eric García scored the equalizer in the 86th minute, assisted by Pedri. Just when it seemed a draw was inevitable, Raphinha netted the fifth and final goal in stoppage time (96′), securing the victory for FC Barcelona.
With this win, Barcelona claimed three crucial points in their battle for the group lead in the UEFA Champions League, demonstrating a remarkable ability to fight back after falling behind by two goals on multiple occasions.
Goal Summary:
- Benfica: 2′ Vangelis Pavlidis, 22′ Vangelis Pavlidis, 30′ Vangelis Pavlidis (penalty), 64′ Ronald Araújo (own goal)
- Barcelona: 13′ Robert Lewandowski (penalty), 68′ Raphinha, 78′ Robert Lewandowski, 86′ Eric García (assisted by Pedri), 96′ Raphinha (assisted by Ferran Torres)
With this victory, FC Barcelona continues to show its strength in the UEFA Champions League, keeping their hopes alive of advancing to the later stages of the competition.
