Barcelona denied winner against Benfica; both team share a point
A high-intensity match was played on Tuesday evening between Barcelona and Benfica, at Camp Nou, as both teams battled for the second spot in Group E in UEFA Champions League. The game was played under the lights in Barcelona where heavens had opened up making it hard for the players to navigate through the rain, however, it assisted the free-flowing football that both the teams put on display.
What made the night extra special was the return of Xavi Hernandez to the Champions League, albeit as a coach of Barcelona. The stage was all set and a victory for either side would have given a better outlook at what was to be expected of the final matchday of the Champions League, but the match ended in a draw. It was a tough fight for both teams but in the end, it will be remembered as a tale of two disallowed goals.
At first glance, it was clear that Barcelona was the force supreme. They connected some very clean passes. Their runs were also more purposeful than that of Benfica. Barcelona dictated 65% of possession but the finishing remained woeful on either side. Barcelona had 14 total shots while Benfica had 7, yet both the teams ended up with just 3 shots on target and none of them bulged the net.
The two key moments of the game came in the 35th and 83rd minutes of the game. The first one was a corner for Benfica that was drilled in by Otamendi, only to get canceled out, as the referee deemed the corner out of bounds. The second disallowed goal was much closer than this, as an almost perfectly time run by Ronald Araujo, was met with a great pass by Jordi Alba. The center back also managed to put the ball behind the net only for the linesman to deem it offside.
The game ended at level pegging has somewhat taken Barcelona’s fate of qualifying to the next round in the Champions League out of their hand. Now they will be required to win the game against Bayern Munich, and hope for the result of Benfica vs Kyiv to go in their favor too.
