Barcelona vs Benfica: Loser Goes Home
The first time they met, it felt like we were witnessing a Champions League final—nine combined goals, crucial goalkeeper mistakes, and an unlikely comeback. The first matchup had it all. However, it wasn’t a final but instead a first-round meeting. Now, the stage has changed. Barcelona and Benfica will face off in a two-leg Round of 16 clash, where the winner will advance to the quarterfinals, and the loser will be eliminated.
The Portuguese side proved to be a tough opponent for Hansi Flick’s squad the first time around as they dominated most of the game. Even so, Barcelona refused to quit and fought back from two down to take the victory, 5-4. For the home side, Greek striker Vangelis Pavlidis scored a first-half hat trick, and a Ronald Araújo own goal added to the tally. Meanwhile, Lewandowski and Raphinha each put two past the Benfica keeper with Eric García also putting his name on the scoresheet.
The UCL knockouts draw played into Barça’s favor. They will avoid teams like Real Madrid, Atlético de Madrid, Liverpool, and PSG until an eventual final. But, they can come across Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen, or Inter Milan in the semifinals. The winner of this matchup will face the winner between Borussia Dortmund and Lille.
Benfica’s path to the knockouts was anything but simple. They could not qualify directly to the Round of 16; therefore they needed to face off against Monaco to move on in the competition. This left them with little to no margin for error. In the first leg, they were victorious 1-0 but the second leg proved to be more difficult.
The French side accomplished a miraculous 3-2 lead with only 10 minutes remaining in the match, which could send the game to extra time. Nevertheless, Turkish international Orkun Kökçü sealed their fate with only a few minutes remaining by scoring the equalizer, with the match ultimately ending in a 3-3 draw.
The road to Munich is finally set. Barcelona’s path to the final is attainable but first, they must defeat Benfica to keep progressing in the UCL. Hopes are high for the club to lift their first Champions League trophy in 10 years. The first leg is set to take place on March 5 in Lisbon.