Pedri 9.0, Szczesny 3.0 | Benfica 4-5 Barcelona: Player ratings | OneFootball

Barcelona end up grabbing a massive win against SL Benfica in the UEFA Champions League. With the team’s best efforts to get the win, they finally emerged victorious after a huge comeback. A night of errors for Barcelona, and one where they definitely did not want to drop points in but managed to get a good result despite the unfortunate circumstances.

Had it not been for Wojciech Szczesny’s disastrous decision making in this game, La Blaugrana may have come out of this game with a more comfortable win. Ultimately, goals from Robert Lewandowski, Raphinha, and Eric Garcia were enough to help the team mount a rather magical comeback.

Here are the player ratings for the Barcelona players.

Player Ratings:

Wojciech Szczesny: 3.0

That will undoubtedly be a game that the Polish goalkeeper will be having nightmares about. First came a horrendous decision to tackle his own teammate and gift SL Benfica with a goal, and then came the unnecessary penalty that he let them win. Disastrous performance.

Alejandro Balde: 7.5

Had it not been for Wojciech Szczesny’s irrational decision-making, Alejandro Balde may have capped off an amazing performance across the board. His dribbling was sublime, his touches were perfect, and he even won a penalty for Barcelona in the first half.

Pau Cubarsi: 7.5

Time and time again, Pau Cubarsi came to Barça’s rescue in this game. When everything seemed locked down by Benfica, it would often be the young Spaniard who would open up opportunities for his teammates with his impressive line-breaking passes.

Ronald Araujo: 6.5

Alongside Cubarsi, he cannot be blamed too much for the goals that the team ended up concerning. On other occasions, the Uruguayan defender made some crucial interceptions to stop the progression of Benfica, even though it was a big ask considering the frequency of the opposition’s attacks. Unfortunately, he ended up scoring an own goal in the second half.

Jules Kounde: 6.0

Not exactly a game to remember for the Frenchman, as nothing he did seemed to come off properly. Defensively he was targeted by the Portuguese side, and offensively he could not seem to connect properly with Yamal or the rest of his teammates.

Marc Casado: 6.0

Was outmuscled by the Benfica players for much of the game and Hansi Flick absolutely got his substitutes right as removing Casado helped the team mount a big comeback. Not entirely his fault, but simply not his game to mount a comeback.

Gavi: 6.0

Intense in his duels, but seemed a bit lethargic today both physically and mentally. His passes were sometimes sloppy and his decision-making was hardly commendable most of the time. Not exactly a game to remember for him despite his efforts.

Raphinha: 8.5

What started off as a rather quiet game for the Brazilian forward ended up becoming a heroic performance for him. Apart from the first half, in which he was contained rather well, it seemed like it was just meant to be his day in terms of coming away with the goals that Barcelona needed. While the first one was complete luck, the second was a work of art and commitment.

Pedri: 9.0

Did his best to create and open up spaces for his teammates, but it always seemed like the other Barcelona players were not on the same wavelength. Great effort from the youngster, but sadly he was left frustrated for much of the game. Ended up delivering a massively important assist that Eric Garcia converted, however.

Lamine Yamal: 6.5

Was frustrated at the start by the SL Benfica fullback, but soon grew into the game. His dribbling got sharper and his decision making started to improve as well. Unfortunately, however, he was still far from his best in this game.

Robert Lewandowski: 8.0

Did well to successfully convert the first penalty that Barcelona got, but his link-up play was quite disappointing in this game. His passes were either too heavy or too soft, and it let down his teammates on a couple of different occasions. Still, managed to score a second penalty calmly and give the team some much-needed hope.

Substitutes:

Frenkie de Jong: 7.0

A great substitution by Hansi Flick, as Frenkie de Jong’s arrival calmed things down for Barcelona. His passes were crisp and his decision-making was a breathe of fresh air for the team considering their lack of new ideas on the pitch.

Fermin Lopez: 6.5

Put in some great intensity and energy after coming on, and it led to SL Benfica making some unnecessary errors as well. Good substitution.

Eric Garcia: 7.5

A heroic header from the Spaniard may as well be the perfect parting gift if he ends up leaving the club. The massive equalizer that he scored did wonders for Barcelona.