Late Raphinha strike earns Barca 5-4 win at Benfica and last-16 spot

LISBON : Barcelona's Raphinha scored deep into stoppage time to hand his side a dramatic 5-4 comeback win at Benfica and a place in the Champions League last 16 on Tuesday after a hat-trick from Vangelis Pavlidis gave the hosts a two-goal halftime lead.

The Catalans had mirrored their poor recent LaLiga form in a shaky start at the Estadio da Luz, while coach Hansi Flick's decision to field goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny raised questions as the Pole's blunders led to two Benfica goals.

But Flick's men fought back late in the game to clinch their spot in the next round as they sit second on 18 points after seven games heading into next week's final first phase fixtures.

Benfica missed out on a win that would have taken them closer to the top eight, who qualify automatically for the last 16, dropping to 18th with 10 points among the playoff spots.

"We knew it was going to be a difficult game. I know how difficult it is to play here against Benfica. They have players of the highest level," former Sporting forward Raphinha told Movistar.

"We didn't let ourselves get carried away when we were 3-1 down. It was a spectacular match for the spectators. Anyone could have won."

Greek striker Pavlidis opened the scoring after two minutes with a tap-in before Robert Lewandowski equalised from the spot as VAR awarded Barca a penalty for a Tomas Araujo foul on Alejandro Balde in the 11th minute.

Pavlidis restored Benfica's lead, capitalising on a poor run out by goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, who left the forward with an open goal. The 26-year-old bagged his third with a penalty after Szczesny fouled Kerem Akturkoglu on the half-hour mark.

A blunder by Benfica keeper Anatoliy Trubin also proved costly as he cleared the ball straight onto