Barcelona achieved an epic victory in Lisbon after beating the Benfica by 5 to 4 under an intense rain that covered the stadium for the seventh date of the Champions Leagueon the same day in which Julian Alvarez gave an agonizing victory to Atlético de Madrid.
The match was a rollercoaster of emotions in which the locals, with Nicolas Otamendi of owner and Angel Di Maria and Benjamin Rollheiser who entered the second half, were in the lead for much of the match. However, the Catalan team equalized the score three minutes from time with a header from Eric García.
When everything seemed to indicate that the tie was final, a lethal counterattack culminated in Raphinha’s goal, sealing the victory in added time.
Controversy was not absent, since a play in the visiting area sparked protests from Benfica, but referee Danny Makkelie confirmed the validity of the goal without resorting to VAR.
The development of the match was marked by constant scoreboard changes. Vangelis Pavlidis was the star of Benfica, scoring a hat-trick that included a controversial penalty after an error by Wojciech Szczesny.
The Polish goalkeeper had a night to forget, giving away a goal and committing unnecessary fouls. Despite this, Barcelona stayed in the fight thanks to goals from Lewandowski and Raphinha, who took advantage of the rival’s defensive errors.
The score against Ronald Araújo seemed to end the match, but the Catalans never gave up.
In other games, Atlético de Madrid achieved an important 2-1 victory against Bayer Leverkusen thanks to a double from Julian Alvarez.
The German team dominated the first half and took the lead with a header from Piero Hincapié after a cross from Nordi Mukiele.
However, Hincapié’s own expulsion in the second half allowed Simeone’s team to come back.
Álvarez was the hero of the nighttying the score after a long pass from Griezmann and scoring the winning goal after a defensive error by Tapsoba.
At Anfield, Liverpool (Alexis Mac Allister played the second half) continued its perfect streak by beating Lille 2-1. Mohamed Salah opened the scoring after a precise pass from Curtis Jones, but the French equalized thanks to Jonathan David.
The English response came with a spectacular volley from Harvey Elliot, which secured the three points.
Meanwhile, Stuttgart beat Slovan Bratislava 3-1, keeping their qualification hopes alive. Jamie Leweling scored two key goals, and Fabian Rieder closed the scoring after Idjessi Metsoko pulled one back for the Slovaks.
For its part, PSV defeated Red Star 3-2 in a tight match, leaving both teams with pending tasks on the final day.
Source: Ambito
