SL Benfica striker Darwin Nunez scored a double, while Rafa Silva added another, as Benfica handed Barcelona a 3-0 loss. For the first time in their History, Barcelona have lost both of their first two matches in the Champions League group stage.
Nunez opened the scoring for Benfica just three minutes into the match with a goal entirely of his own making. Julian Weigl’s long ball forced Nunez wide, but the Uruguayan ran inside once he had collected it before taking on and beating Eric Garcia inside the box. His subsequent near-post shot wrong-footed Marc-Andre ter Stegen, and Benfica took the lead with barely three minutes played.
Barcelona survived another early Benfica attack before launching counter-attacks of their own. One such attack nearly resulted in an equalizer, but for a sensational last-ditch block from Lucas Verissimo, who managed to get a foot on Luuk De Jong’s shot. The Dutchman had an open goal to aim at, albeit it would have been ruled out due to a marginal offside in the build-up.
Benfica wrestled back control of the game and nearly doubled their lead through Nunez in the 52nd minute. The forward got to the ball ahead of Ter Stegen – closer to the halfway line than he was to his goal – but his subsequent shot hit the outside of the post.
Nevertheless, Jesus’ team did double their advantage in the 69th minute, thanks to Rafa Silva, who was alert enough to flick a loose ball into the net after Ter Stegen had denied Joao Mario.
Things went from bad to worse for Barcelona after Sergino Dest gave away a penalty in the 77th minute, which Nunez converted. Garcia later received his marching orders for a second bookable offence, concluding a miserable trip for the away side.
