Raphinha's Late Strike Seals Barcelona's 5-4 Win Over Benfica in Champions League Classic

Barcelona staged an incredible comeback to defeat Benfica 5-4 in a thrilling Champions League encounter, with Raphinha scoring a late winner to seal the victory.

Barcelona staged an astonishing comeback at Estádio da Luz, overcoming a 4-2 deficit to secure a thrilling 5-4 victory in the UEFA Champions League. The Catalan giants were facing a daunting task, having managed only one win in their previous seven UCL matches at the same venue.

Benfica, determined to prove their mettle, delivered a clinical finishing lesson to the visitors just two minutes into the match. A precise diagonal ball found Fredrik Aursnes on the edge of the box, and he promptly crossed it into the box for Vangelis Pavlidis to score his second UCL goal of the season from close range. However, Barcelona were awarded a penalty shortly after, as Tomás Araújo clipped Alejandro Balde's heel inside the box, providing the visitors with a glimmer of hope.

Robert Lewandowski showcased his trademark composure, deceiving Anatoliy Trubin with a clever hop before slotting the penalty into the bottom-right corner. This marked his 86th successful penalty conversion out of 96 attempts in his career. A couple of minutes later, Gavi was put through on goal by a deflection and forced a reflex save from Trubin, providing Barcelona with a glimmer of hope.

However, Barcelona's defensive woes soon resurfaced, as a Benfica ball over the top caught Wojciech Szczęsny off guard. The Polish goalkeeper recklessly charged out of his box and collided with Alejandro Balde, allowing Vangelis Pavlidis to roll the ball into an empty net. Szczęsny's misery continued as he upended Kerem Aktürkoğlu, who had broken through the lines. Pavlidis stepped up and calmly converted the penalty down the middle, securing his hat-trick.

Barcelona managed to avoid further calamity for the remainder of the half, although Raphinha squandered a golden opportunity to score after a Benfica error, firing wide when it seemed easier to find the back of the net. The Catalan giants emerged strongly after the interval, with Jules Koundé being put through by a ball over the top. However, he failed to capitalize, mis-hitting the ball in a manner that might have halved the deficit.

Lamine Yamal also had a chance to score, but he fired drastically over the bar after picking up a lofted pass on the edge of the Benfica box. In an attempt to salvage some pride from the match, Barcelona boss Hansi Flick made a double substitution at the hour mark.

The fightback was ignited almost immediately, as Barcelona benefited from another bizarre turn of events. Anatoliy Trubin's routine kick downfield flew directly onto the head of Raphinha, who scored with a fortunate header, injecting newfound belief into the Catalan giants.

However, Barcelona's renewed optimism was short-lived, as Benfica struck for the fourth time. Tomás Araújo's aerial ball across goal found Andreas Schjelderup, whose attempted square was inadvertently deflected into the net by Ronald Araújo. This goal seemed to have crushed Barcelona's spirits, but they refused to accept defeat.

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Barcelona's persistence paid off as they earned their second penalty of the night, courtesy of Nicolás Otamendi's foul on Lamine Yamal in the area. Robert Lewandowski stepped up and scored in the exact same spot as his previous penalty, setting up a tense finish for Benfica.

In a stunning turn of events, Barcelona took the lead in the dying minutes of the match. Pedri delivered a cross to the back post, where Eric García headed the ball in at point-blank range. The drama continued deep into injury time, as Benfica's penalty appeal was denied, and Raphinha capitalized on the counter-attack, scoring a heart-wrenching goal that jeopardized Benfica's chances of direct qualification for the Round of 16 while virtually securing Barcelona's own prospects.