The clash between Benfica and Barcelona in Lisbon has entered the history books as one of the most remarkable matches in UEFA Champions League history, breaking numerous records and producing unforgettable moments.
The thriller in Lisbon, one of the brightest ever in UCL history, was packed with records and remarkable events, Idman.biz reports.
First-ever 5-4 score in the history of the Champions League, regardless of home or away.
Second match in European competition to end with a 4-5 away win, after Valletta vs Rijeka (UEFA Cup, qualifying round, 24 August 2008).
Fourth 5-4 victory for Barcelona as a visitor in all official competitions, after:
Europe vs Barça, 4-5 (1923 Regional Championship),
Levante vs Barça, 4-5 (1963 La Liga),
Deportivo vs Barça, 4-5 (2012 La Liga).
Second team to win a Champions League match despite conceding 4+ goals, after Borussia Dortmund’s 8-4 win over Legia Warsaw (22 November 2016).
First time Barcelona won a Champions League match after being down by two goals (1-3, then 2-4).
First-ever visiting team to come back from a two-goal deficit in the 75th minute to win a Champions League match.
Barcelona has conceded 15 goals in their last 3 games at Estadio da Luz (along with 2-8 vs Bayern, 14 August 2020, and 0-3 vs Benfica, 29 September 2021).
Barcelona conceded 4 goals in a group or league stage of the Champions League for the second time in their history, after 5 November 1997 (0-4 vs Dynamo Kyiv).
Barcelona won six UCL games in a row for the first time since 2015, scoring 3+ goals in each game. This is the third such streak in UCL history:
Bayern Munich, 6 games with 3+ goals in 2019-20,
Manchester City, 9 games in 2023-24.
Hansi Flick's winning percentage in the Champions League stands at 88% (21 out of 24), the highest by any coach with at least 10 matches.
Vangelis Pavlidis’ hat-trick for Benfica is the third-fastest in Champions League history (30 minutes), after:
Robert Lewandowski, Bayern vs Red Bull Salzburg (23 minutes, 2022),
Marco Simone, Milan vs Rosenborg (24 minutes, 1996).
Pavlidis is the first player to score a hat-trick against Barça in the first half hour of an official match since Catanha (Celta, La Liga, 2 December 2000).
Fourth player to score a Champions League hat-trick against Barcelona, after:
Faustino Asprilla (Newcastle, 1997),
Andriy Shevchenko (Milan, 1997),
Kylian Mbappé (PSG, 2021).
Three other players scored a hat-trick against Barcelona in European competitions before the UCL era:
Vicente Guillot (Valencia, Fairs Cup, 1962),
Tony Kurbos (Metz, Cup Winners' Cup, 1984),
Juary (Porto, European Cup, 1985).
Pavlidis is the 5th player to lose a Champions League match after scoring a hat-trick, after:
Ronaldo (Real Madrid, vs Manchester United, 2003),
Gareth Bale (Tottenham, vs Milan, 2010),
Irfan Kahveci (Basaksehir, vs RB Leipzig, 2020),
Christopher Nkunku (RB Leipzig, vs Manchester City, 2021).
Similar story to the Former Baku head coach Milinko Pantić in the legendary Copa del Rey tie Barça vs Atlético (12 March 1997), where Atlético scored 3 goals in the first 31 minutes but lost 4-5.
Pavlidis’ first goal, at 1 minute 48 seconds, is Benfica's second-fastest in Champions League history, after Nicolás Gaitán’s goal against Galatasaray (1 minute 6 seconds, 2015).
Raphinha's headed goal from outside the area is the third-ever in Champions League history, after:
Antonio Cassano (Roma vs Genk, 2 October 2002),
Roger Cañas (Astana vs Galatasaray, 8 December 2015).
Last time Barcelona was awarded two penalties away from home in the UCL was in 1998 (vs Manchester United).
Robert Lewandowski scored his 18th and 19th goals from the penalty spot in the Champions League, equaling Cristiano Ronaldo’s record.
In an action-packed match, Barcelona emerged victorious with a 5-4 win.
Idman.biz
