Raphinha netted in stoppage time as Barcelona clinched a thrilling 5-4 comeback win over Benfica in one of the Champions League’s most chaotic matches ever.

The Brazilian scored in the sixth added minute, as Benfica protested for a late penalty on the other end. Raphinha’s strike past Anatoliy Trubin stunned the hosts and sparked wild celebrations, confirming Hansi Flick’s side a spot in the last 16.

VAR dismissed Benfica’s penalty appeals, and the full-time whistle blew right after, sealing the dramatic game.

Benfica struck early with Vangelis Pavlidis’ close-range finish, but Robert Lewandowski equalized via penalty after Tomas Araujo fouled Alejandro Balde in the box.

 

Raphinha’s late strike earned Barcelona a dramatic 5-4 victory over Benfica on Tuesday night

 

Benfica were left devastated after seeing their lead fall away in the closing stages of the match

 

Raphinha’s winner came amid controversy as Benfica appealed for a penalty at the other end

Two howlers from Barcelona goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny gifted Benfica a two goal cushion.

Szczesny, who came out of retirement to resolve Barcelona’s injury crisis, raced out of goal and collided with his team-mate Balde.

Pavlidis was on hand to guide the ball into the empty net to put Benfica 2-1 up.

The forward completed a first-half hat-trick from the penalty spot after Szczesny fouled Kerem Akturkoglu in the box.

Barcelona were handed a lifeline in the second half courtesy of another goalkeeping error.

Benfica goalkeeper Anatoliy Trubin’s cleared the ball directly onto the head of Raphinha, with the ball bizarrely bouncing back into the net in the 64th minute.

The chaos continued when Benfica reestablished their two goal advantage four minutes later.

An Andreas Schjelderup cross was deflected into his own net by Ronald Araujo to leave Barcelona staring at the prospect of defeat.

 

Wojciech Szczesny collided with team-mate Alejandro Balde to gift Benfica their second goal

 

Szczesny then gave away the penalty which saw Vangelis Pavlidis complete his hat-trick

Barcelona set up a grandstand finish when Lewandowski converted his second penalty of the net, with the referee waving away Benfica’s protestations at the awarding of the spot-kick.

The Catalan giants then equalised in the 86th minute with Eric Garcia rising highest to plant a header into the Benfica net.

A dramatic conclusion followed when Benfica appealed in vain for a second penalty of their own on the night, only for Barcelona to break clear and score a winner through Raphinha.

Tempers flared at the end as the Portuguese side protested over the non-award of a spot kick in the build-up to the winner, with substitute Arthur Cabral shown a straight red card from the bench.

Raphinha hit out at the Benfica players post-match, with the Barcelona captain alleging he had been insulted in the aftermath of their winner.

‘They insulted me at the end of the match, I insulted them back,’ Raphinha said.

‘If they respect me, I respect them. In my opinion they could have understood the situation, but they preferred to insult me.’

Benfica boss Bruno Lage was seen after the final whistle offering a vocal critique to his players after holding a two goal lead on two occasions in the match, only to lose.

 

An own goal saw Benfica re-establish a two goal advantage before a late collapse

 

Robert Lewandowski scored his second penalty of the night to set up a grandstand finish

 

Eric Garcia levelled the match with four minutes remaining before Barcelona’s dramatic winner

‘Huge frustration at the result. Huge pride in the display and the support of the Benfica family from start to finish,’ Lage said post-match.

‘We have to pick ourselves up. We have to look forward, learn from the result, from the last minutes of the game.’

The result keeps Barcelona second in the Champions League table, three points behind leaders Liverpool, but assured of a place in the last-16.

Benfica are 18th in the table but are well placed to secure a spot in the play-offs.