What else did you expect from Wojciech Szczesny’s return to the big time? On his first appearance in the competition as a Barcelona goalkeeper, the veteran goalkeeper set the baffling standard for both sides in a thrilling 5-4 win at Benfica that featured (deep breath) three penalties, two howlers from the returning goalkeeper and one accidental header. That barely scratches the surface of this game, won at the death when what might have been a penalty conceded by the Polish player between the posts became a one-man breakaway from match-winner Raphinha.
Two errors in eight first-half minutes by Szczesny set the baffling standard for this “hold my beer, I’m about to do something stupid” contest. A furious Bruno Large felt compelled to conduct his fulltime team talk in front of the Estadio Da Luz, surely not rollicking his players but instead making plain his indignation for the world to see. Arthur Cabral should have had a penalty for a shove on him in the 96th minute. If not that, he might have had another when Szczesny clattered into him. Instead, Barcelona flew down the other end through Raphinha, a one-man fast break as deadly as any when he drove onto his left foot and fired past the luckless Anatoliy Trubin, who had already seen a long pass cannon back off the Brazilian’s head and into the net.
The comeback was complete. Or was it? Would Danny Makkiele and his VAR crew conclude that there had been a penalty? Even when this game had been won it promised further twists. Not for the first time on this night, Benfica were left cursing the decisions made in the penalty box.
They had already seen Alejandro Balde handed a penalty for what looked like a punt into touch. Tomas Araujo touched him. Did it stop the left back getting to the ball? Robert Lewandowski’s stuttering run belied a nerveless finish to cancel out Benfica’s excellent early opener. With the Barcelona press snapping early on and Lamine Yamal looking in the mood, you could almost convince yourself that Hansi Flick’s men were going to move through the gears and cruise to victory.
Such a view wouldn’t have reckoned with Szczesny, the chief actor in this comedy of errors. In retrospect, perhaps he’d have been happy watching all this drama unfold from his television. Few would have been able to reject the siren song of Barcelona when they needed a goalkeeper in the autumn but covering the space behind Hansi Flick’s stratospheric line is a young man’s game. More than 15 years into a career he initially called quits in the summer, Szczesny looked nothing of the sort.
Having already conceded when Vangelis Pavlidis met Alvaro Fernandez’s cross with power and precision, Szczesny did what his coaches have doubtless instructed him to do ever since he arrived in October. He aggressively swept the space behind the backline when a ball came over the top. It’s just that on this occasion he really didn’t need to trouble himself. Alejandro Balde had it. At least he did until Szczesny clattered into him. Pavlidis did the sweeping up instead.
When most goalkeepers make such a calamitous error they tend to bunker deep, both actually and mentally. Such caution has never afflicted Szczesny. He probably did not have much choice but to come out when Frederik Aursnes slipped a pass through what approximated a Barcelona defensive line towards Kerem Akturkoglu. Unfortunately, Szczesny’s clattering challenge was that of a man with barely two and a half games since the summer. A red card, a howler and now a penalty conceded since he’d taken the field against Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup final.
The third-fastest hat trick in Champions League history ended up as something of a footnote in this mad game, the first in European Cup history to end 5-4. From 3-1 down, you would imagine Barcelona had mounted a stirring comeback. Not really. Trubiin just kicked the ball at Raphinha’s head.
Szczesny himself had improved, saving well from Aursnes, but his struggles looked to have sewed the seeds of panic in a defense whose high line was continually pierced by Benfica’s ability to pass through pressure. If Marc-Andre ter Stegen was behind Ronald Araujo, would the center back have felt compelled to stick a boot in front of a cross from the left flank that his goalkeeper had covered? Almost certainly not.
It had long since become apparent that the remaining third of this game would not be without incident. Makkiele once more called a penalty that looked favorable for Barcelona, minimal contact on Lamine Yamal enough to hand Lewandowski a second penalty. A gorgeous cross by Pedri onto Eric Garcia’s head and it was all getting Remontadish. Flick’s men certainly convinced themselves that the three points were worth gambling for, flying forward for the remaining 95 minutes, inviting pressure on Szczesny’s goal.
This time he delivered, somehow. The left boot to deny Angel Di Maria just after the equalizer was orthodox excellence. The slap to take the ball away from Cabral sufficed in the view of the refereeing group, who concluded there had not been a foul as Benfica slung the ball into the box. Many in red were still protesting as the ball went down the other end, Raphinha sending Alvaro Carreras into the shadow dimension even as he did what everyone in the stadium knew he would, working the ball onto his left and driving into the bottom right corner.
A guaranteed spot in the last 16 seems scant reward for one of the most thrilling comebacks the Champions League has witnessed. Perhaps it will merely be a staging post in a bigger tale for Barcelona. If fate is on their side as it was tonight, even with their own chaos agent in net, this would be a sign of bigger things to come.
Read the full article here
