UEFA completed the Round of 16 Champions League draw today and it didn´t disappoint, with Liverpool drawing Paris Saint Germain and Real Madrid drawing Atletico Madrid. Barcelona however was gifted the draw of Benfica, avoiding a tie with red-hot Paris Saint Germain, and giving them more than a great chance of advancing to the quarterfinals. Sure, they had to create a miracle to come from behind and defeat Benfica 5-4 just one month ago in Lisbon but considering PSG hasn´t lost in 19 matches and just disposed of Brest 10-0 on aggregate, they are by far the better draw.
Back in January at Estadio de Luz Barca found themselves down 3-1 at halftime and staring at a potential drop out of the top 8, which would have assured them an extra round of matches to secure themselves in the round of 16. A 64th minute header from Raphina brought it to 3-2, but 4 minutes later a Ronald Araujo own goal brought it to 4-2 and again things looked bleak. A Robert Lewandowski penalty brought hope in the 78th and the miracle was on after an 86th minute Eric Garcia goal. With 4 minutes added, somehow the match was extended longer (perhaps Joan Laporta was in the VAR booth?) and Raphina completed the comeback with a 96th minute goal leaving Benfica furious and FC Barcelona with an improbable comeback that ranks up there with the best in the club´s history.
Looking ahead to the coming ties, what can Barca fans expect for the 1st leg on March 5th Lisbon and the return match in Catalunya on March 11th? For starters, this isn´t an easy two matches, as Benfica has lost just once since their January 21 disaster, including a 2-0 win over Juventus, and a 3-3 tie with Monaco on Wednesday that put them through from an 84th minute Kokcu goal. Add in the fact that in an 8-day span Barca plays Atletico in the Copa del Rey semifinal, a La Liga match with Real Sociedad, and finally the Benfica Champions League match and you can see this isn´t an easy task.
But honestly, despite the three matches in 8 days that lie ahead, Barca is in good form, they have very few injuries, and Hansi Flick has a player rotation going that is going to get them through these three matches. Benfica is a match they can and will win and when they return to Barcelona for the second leg, we will see them moving onto the quarterfinals.