Barcelona faced Benfica this evening in a crucial Champions League clash at Camp Nou. The Catalan side were second in Group E going into the game, two points clear of tonight’s opponents but six off pace-setters Bayern Munich.
Best stadium itw, even on a cold, rainy night in Barcelona #BarçaBenfica pic.twitter.com/JKWl5tg7Uk
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) November 23, 2021
The game finished scoreless, despite both Nicolás Otamendi and Ronald Araújo seeing goals of theirs ruled out. In the case of the former, the ball momentarily veered out of bounds as it was being delivered from the right wing, while in the case of the latter the Uruguayan was a touch offside as the ball was played to him. The battle for second spot will go down to the last matchday.
Barcelona have endured a tough start to the season and sit seventh in La Liga at the time of writing, although Xavi’s appointment as coach during the international break has meant that the atmosphere at the club has changed and become considerably more positive. They won the opening fixture of his reign at the weekend, beating Espanyol 1-0.
🚨 𝐅𝐔𝐋𝐋 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄 🚨#BarçaBenfica pic.twitter.com/59bgaTUSS9
— FC Barcelona (@FCBarcelona) November 23, 2021
“We lacked a goal but we played a great game, the attitude was very good,” Araújo said post-match in comments carried by Marca. “We were able to look after their counter-attacks well. But we missed the goal that would have been the golden key in helping us qualify [for the last 16].
“They were very tight, they protected their goal well. We tried to go at them out wide, but they were difficult to beat. To their credit they didn’t allow themselves to be broken down. We were keen to press high but we knew their ability on the break, their speed. We did what the coach asked and we played a good game, but this leaves a bitter taste in the mouth because we wanted to seal our qualification at home. It’ll have to be against Bayern. That will be complicated but not impossible.”
