Raphinha caps late Barcelona comeback to settle nine-goal thriller with Benfica
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Raphinha scored deep into stoppage time to hand Barcelona a dramatic 5-4 comeback win at Benfica and a place in the last 16 of the Champions League on Tuesday. Vangelis Pavlidis’s hat-trick had given the hosts a two-goal half-time lead and they were 4-2 up with 12 minutes to play before Hansi Flick’s side pulled out a sensational victory, sealed by the Brazilian with a finish on the break, seconds after Benfica had appealed in vain for a late penalty.
The Greece striker Pavlidis opened the scoring on two minutes with a tap-in before Robert Lewandowski equalised from the spot after VAR awarded Barça a penalty for a Tomás Araújo foul on Alejandro Balde in the 11th minute. Pavlidis restored Benfica’s lead, capitalising on a poor decision to leave his area by goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, who left the forward with an open goal.
Pavlidis bagged his third goal with a penalty after Szczesny continued his difficult night with a clumsy foul on Kerem Akturkoglu at the half-hour mark. It was 3-1 at half-time, but a bizarre blunder by Anatoliy Trubin let Barça back into the game in the 64th minute. The Benfica keeper’s clearance ricocheted off Raphinha’s head and looped into the net from 25 yards out.
Barcelona’s defensive misfortune continued, though, and Benfica restored their two-goal lead again four minutes later thanks to an own goal from Ronald Araújo. The visitors would not lie down, and Lewandowski scored his second goal of the night with another clinical penalty in the 78th minute.
