Barcelona’s Champions League Hopes Dwindle as Vangelis Pavlidis’ Hat-Trick Propels Benfica to a 3-1 Lead
Barcelona’s path to securing a place in the Champions League last 16 took a severe blow as Benfica surged to a 3-1 lead during their critical league-phase clash.
The match began disastrously for Barcelona when Spanish left-back Álvaro Carreras delivered a pinpoint cross for Vangelis Pavlidis, who smashed it past Wojciech Szczesny. Making his first Champions League appearance for Barcelona, Szczesny was helpless to stop the strike.
Barcelona leveled the score 11 minutes later, thanks to Alejandro Balde’s determined run into Benfica’s penalty area. A VAR review awarded a penalty after Antonio Silva’s foul. Robert Lewandowski calmly converted from the spot, netting his 102nd Champions League goal.
Despite briefly gaining momentum, Barcelona fell behind again due to a costly error by Szczesny, gifting Pavlidis his second goal. Minutes later, Pavlidis completed his first-half hat-trick, converting a penalty following Szczesny’s foul in the box.
With an uphill task ahead, Barcelona must score three unanswered goals to salvage their Champions League hopes.