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Barcelona have become one of two teams (along with Liverpool) to automatically qualify for the round of 16 of the Champions League, and they did so by winning their sixth consecutive game in the competition. However, this victory at Benfica was not easy at all, with three goals in 20 minutes that allowed the Catalans to come back from 4-2 down to take the game with a score of 5-4.
Hansi Flick had previously overseen a 10-goal match at the Estadio da Luz when his Bayern Munich defeated Barcelona 8-2 in 2020, and has now achieved a nine-goal victory at the same stadium. In statements to Movistar+ (via Diario AS), he reflected on the victory in Lisbon, while thanking the mentality with which his players played during the 96 minutes.
“It was a crazy game. The best thing has been the mentality. This is football. I don’t think I’ve ever experienced a comeback like this. They were very good in the transitions and marked us well. They forced us to defend very far back because we were not well positioned. The substitutions helped us a lot.”
The match had a lot of drama, but also many mistakes. Wojciech Szczesny was at the center of them in the first half, as he gifted Benfica their second goal of the afternoon before conceding a penalty to Vangelis Pavlidis to score his hat-trick. It was the Pole’s first Champions League appearance for Barcelona, but Flick defended his decision to start the veteran ahead of Iñaki Peña.
“What player doesn’t make mistakes? We all do them. We win and lose together. “I liked what I saw (from him) in the second half.”
Barcelona will host Atalanta in their final match of the league phase next midweek, and although they are already assured of finishing in the top eight, Flick will want his team to win that match to ensure a perfect finish to this stage of the Liga. Champions.
