WATCH: Barcelona behind inside two minutes as Benfica make dream Champions League start | OneFootball

Barcelona would all-but secure their place in the Champions League round of 16 with a victory against Benfica at the Estadio da Luz, but they have had the worst possible start by falling behind in the early stages.

It is a dreadful start for Barcelona, as Spanish left-back Alvaro Carreras delivered a wonderful cross for Vangelis Pavlidis to smash into the back of the net – Wojciech Szczesny, who is making his first Champions League appearance for Barcelona, was left with no chance whatsoever of stopping it.

Barcelona will be very keen to bounce back from Saturday’s disappointing draw against Getafe, which slowed down their momentum after an excellent start to 2025. However, their plans have been disrupted in Lisbon, although they do have plenty of time to turn things around.

Nevertheless, it is very disappointing for Hansi Flick’s side to find themselves behind, and considering than Benfica brushed aside Atletico Madrid by a 4-0 scorelines earlier in the season, there are no guarantees that they will be able to turn this around. The German coach stressed pre-match that they needed to defend well, but they did not do that for the opening goal.