You can read often about a ‘rollercoaster’ in modern-day football, but no one encapsulates that word better than Hansi Flick’s Barca!They truly are a crazy rollercoaster, and on Tuesday night, it went from the abbys of Lisbon straight to the top – Barca were 4-2 down with just 22 minutes left on the clock, and managed to arrange a total comeback for a sensational 5-4 away win against Benfica!Raphinha, who never triumphed against Benfica in his previous eight encounters, netted twice tonight, including a 90+6 winner, making it very personal, remarkable and unforgettable Champions League night.Raphinha the greatest big game player on earth won it on last kick of the game😭😭❤️❤️😭 pic.twitter.com/JMVrIHBpC6— K (@StopThatXavii) January 21, 2025 It started awfully for Barcelona, as the Blaugrana were presented with early signs of darkness at the Stadium of Light very early on. Vangelis Pavlidis started his sensational half-an-hour by heading home an excellent cross from the left into the back of Wojciech Szczesny’s net for the opener. Barcelona levelled the score after just 11 minutes through Lewandowski from the spot, but Benfica were ahead again after a howler from Szczesny, who collided with Balde and gifted Pavlidis the chance to score a brace, which he accepted.That was not his last, though, as Pavlidis sealed an unbelievable hattrick inside 30 minutes with a penalty following a foul inside the area from the Polish veteran.🇬🇷💥 Vangelis Pavlidis hat-trick alert! 🚨All within 30 mins vs Barcelona, incredible. pic.twitter.com/3sEIyS6ffv— EuroFoot (@eurofootcom) January 21, 2025 If that first half was crazy, then the second part was twice crazier.Tonight’s hero Raphinha made it 3-2 after heading into the net from Trubin’s clearance. Soon enough, however, Ronald Araujo put it accidentally into his own net for Benfica’s 4-2 lead, and at that moment, it seemed like Barca were heading for a tremendous fall.Ehh, it’s a rollercoaster, you remember, and it goes up after hitting the bottom – Lewa scored his second penalty of the evening, and Eric Garcia headed home for the equaliser. That was just a prelude to a climax in the dying seconds of the game, as Raphinha nailed a winner from the counter, triggering wild celebration among the visitors.UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE – ROUND 7TuesdayMonaco – Aston Villa 1-0 (1-0)/Singo 8/Atalanta – Sturm Graz 5-0 (1-0)/Retegui 12, Pasalic 58, De Ketelaere 63, Lookman 90, Brescianini 90+5/Atletico Madrid – Bayer Leverkusen 2-1 (0-1)/Alvarez 52,90 – Hincapie 45+1/Benfica – Barcelona 4-5 (3-1)/Pavlidis 2, 22, 30 pen, Araujo 68 og – Lewandowski 13 pen, 78 pen, Raphinha 64,90+6, Garcia 86/Bologna – Borussia Dortmund 2-1 (0-1)/Dallinga 71, Junior 72 – Guirassy 15 pen/Club Brugge – Juventus 0-0Crvena zvezda – PSV 2-3 (0-3)/Ndiaye 71, Djiga 78 – De Jong 17, Til 23, Flamingo 43/Liverpool – Lille 2-1 (1-0)/Salah 34, Elliot 67 – David 62/Slovan Bratislava – Stuttgart 1-3 (0-2)/Metsoko 85 – Leweling 11,34, Rieder 87/Wednesday20:45: (2.85) Leipzig (3.70) Sporting (2.45)20:45: (2.70) Shakhtar (3.10) Brest (2.75)23:00: (7.75) Sparta Praha (4.50) Inter (1.42)23:00: (1.12) Arsenal (11.0) Dinamo Zagreb (22.0)23:00: (1.38) Celtic (5.40) Young Boys (8.50)23:00: (6.75) Feyenoord (5.00) Bayern (1.43)23:00: (1.48) Milan (4.65) Girona (7.25)23:00: (2.50) PSG (3.80) Man City (2.75)23:00 (1.08) Real Madrid (14.0) RB Salzburg (30.0)***odds are subject to change***
