Barcelona have turn out to be one among two groups (alongside Liverpool) to mechanically qualify for the final 16 of the Champions League, and so they did so by profitable their sixth match in a row within the competitors. Nonetheless, this victory at Benfica was removed from easy, with three objectives in 20 minutes seeing the Catalans come again from 4-2 to take the sport with a 5-4 scoreline.
Hansi Flick had beforehand overseen a 10-goal match on the Estadio da Luz as his Bayern Munich infamously defeated Barcelona 8-2 in 2020, and now he has managed a nine-goal victory on the identical stadium. Chatting with Movistar+ (by way of Diario AS), he mirrored on the win in Lisbon, whereas crediting the mindset that his gamers performed with in the course of the 96 minutes.
“It was a loopy recreation. One of the best factor has been the mentality. That is soccer. I don’t assume I’ve ever skilled a comeback like this. They had been excellent in transitions and so they have marked us effectively. They compelled us to defend very deep, as we weren’t effectively positioned. The substitutions helped us lots.”
The match had loads of drama, but additionally numerous errors. Wojciech Szczesny was on the coronary heart of them within the first half, as he gifted Benfica their second aim of the night earlier than giving freely a penalty for Vangelis Pavlidis to internet his hat-trick. It was the Pole’s first Champions League look for Barcelona, however Flick defended his resolution to begin the veteran forward of Inaki Pena.
“Which participant doesn’t make errors? All of us make them. We win and lose collectively. I preferred what I noticed (from him) within the second half.”
Barcelona host Atalanta of their ultimate league part fixture subsequent midweek, and though they’re already assured of ending inside the highest eight, Flick will need his aspect to win that match to make sure an ideal finish to this stage of the Champions League.