Barcelona Stunned by Wojciech Szczesny’s Error as Benfica Regain Lead in Crucial Champions League Clash
Barcelona face an uphill battle to secure their spot in the Champions League Round of 16 after falling behind twice to Benfica in their pivotal Matchday 7 fixture.
The match began poorly for Barcelona as Álvaro Carreras delivered a pinpoint cross to Vangelis Pavlidis, who clinically fired past Wojciech Szczesny. Making his Champions League debut for Barcelona, Szczesny had no chance to stop the opener.
Barcelona quickly equalized just 11 minutes later. Alejandro Balde’s impressive run into the penalty area ended with him being fouled by Antonio Silva. Initially overlooked by the referee, VAR intervention awarded a penalty, which Robert Lewandowski confidently converted for his 102nd Champions League goal.
Barcelona seemed to dominate the game after leveling the score, but a disastrous mistake from Szczesny allowed Pavlidis to bag his second goal, putting Benfica back in front.