JAKARTA - The most dramatic match in the Champions League when Barcelona beat Benfica with a score of 5-4. The match, which was marked by nine goals and Barca's victory, was decided by Raphinha's injury time goal. However, coach Hansi Flick actually defended goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny who made a blunder which led to two Benfica goals.
Flick surprisingly chose Szczesny who was standing under the bar and not Inaki Pena. Moreover, Szczesny is actually only Pena's coating that rose to become the first goalkeeper following an injury suffered by Marc-Andre ter Stegen.
Szczesny also realized that his long career with Arsenal, Juventus and the Polish national team would soon end. This is why the 34-year-old goalkeeper has no objection to being brought to Barca on a short contract or just until the end of this season.
However, Flick actually gave Szczesny the opportunity to start and reserve Pena in several matches. Including when Barca visited Benfica's headquarters. The two teams dueled at the Stadio do SL Benfica (Da Luz), Wednesday, January 22, 2025 in the morning WIB.
The decision of the former Bayern Munich coach was indeed surprising. Moreover, Szczesny then made two fatal mistakes which resulted in Barca's goal conceding. Even the game had only been running for two minutes, already had to pick the ball from the net through Vangelis Pavlidis' kick.
Szczesny made another mistake that gave Benfica a penalty and closed the first half with a 3-1 advantage through a Pavlidis hat trick.
In the second half, Benfica was still 4-2 ahead after defender Ronald Arajou scored an own goal. But the Blaugrana were finally able to catch up. And Raphinha's goal in the 90+6 minute became Barca's winner.
"The game was really crazy. We showed maturity of mentality. We got up to catch up. It was really amazing. That's football and that's why we love it," Flick was quoted as saying by reuters.com.
"I have never experienced a situation when a comeback like this. It must be admitted that this is really hard to believe. We played badly in the first half. On the other hand, the opponent played very well and scored a quick goal. In the second half, we played better. Substitution of players also really helped us," he said.
Responding to Szczesny's blunder that forced Barca to work hard to turn things around, Flick still supported the goalkeeper. He also stated that there was nothing wrong in his decision to bring down Szczesny.
"Who didn't make a mistake in this match? That's a natural thing. Szczesny made a number of mistakes. Not only him, but all the players made a lot of mistakes in the first half," said the former German national team coach.
Meanwhile, Raphinha revealed that the team began to rise after he scored a goal that changed the score to 3-2. Even though at that time, Benfica managed to add goals due to Araujo's suicide, but they were sure they were able to turn things around.
"We know very well our potential and the way we play. The coaches also trust us. And players believe when we work hard, we can turn ahead," said Raphinha.
"When we entered the second half, in our minds, we were able to catch up. When we scored the second goal, we kept trying until the last minute. We didn't give up and tried to win the game," he said.
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The victory over Benfica made Barca qualify automatically for the last 16 of the Champions League. The reason is, Barca are in second place by pocketing 18 points. Three points adrift with the leadership of the Liverpool standings who have also made sure to qualify.
Meanwhile, Benfica still has to struggle to qualify because they are ranked 18th with 10 points. They are still in the playoffs zone. If the position does not change, Benfica must play two home and away matches to get a ticket to the last 16.
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