Can Incredible Barca Fightback Spark Revival?

Barcelona win
Credit Maxisports / Bigstockphoto

Over the years Barcelona have had some incredible games and produced some stunning results. Their fightback against PSG in the last 16 of the Champions League in the 2016/17 season will take some topping. Back then they lost the first leg 4-0, only to win the return 6-1 at the Nou Camp. Back then, of course, they had a certain Lionel Messi pulling the strings, not to mention Neymar and Luis Suarez.

We may never see a comeback quite like that one but Barca did produce a stirring revival against Benfica on Tuesday the 21st of January, 2025. The Catalan side looked down and out against their Iberian hosts in the tie, which took place at Benfica’s Stadium of Light in Lisbon. They trailed 3-1 after half an hour and then 4-2 with just 12 minutes to play. In the end, they won 5-4 to book their place in the final 16 of the competition once again and they will hope that this incredible fightback will spark life back into their stalling season.

Benfica 4-5 Barcelona: Brilliant Raphinha Leads the Way

Raphinha Barcelona
Raphinha (Credit Govern de Catalunya / Flickr)

Barca were flying until a 1-0 defeat at Real Sociedad on the 10th of November. They had won 11 of their opening 12 games in the league and despite a 2-1 defeat at Monaco in the first match of their Champions League campaign they had hit back with three consecutive victories in the competition, including a 4-1 thumping of Bayern Munich.

However, their form over the following two months was dire, to say the least. Ahead of their weekend clash with Valencia they have managed just one win in eight La Liga fixtures, tasting defeat in half of those matches. From looking like one of the best teams in Europe, and boasting a commanding lead in the domestic title race, they have slipped to third in the league, some seven points behind their great rivals, Real Madrid.

Against such a backdrop, slipping into a 3-1 deficit with just 30 minutes on the clock against a side like Benfica – not a bad outfit, but one Hansi Flick’s men were fully expected to beat – could have set alarm bells ringing. No doubt it did, certainly among many of Barca’s fans, who will be hurting badly from seeing Real overtake them so easily in La Liga. But thankfully for all concerned with Barca the players and their manager kept calm and pulled off a stunning, against-the-odds win, thanks to a brilliant late showing from former Leeds star Raphinha.

The Brazilian gave his team hope initially when he pulled things back to 3-2 after 64 minutes. How much credit the player can take for the goal is debatable, given it was a truly bizarre moment with the Benfica goalie pinging the ball straight onto Raphinha’s head. The Barca man was around 30 yards from goal and possibly 20 away from the keeper. Ukrainian Anatolii Trubin drilled a low ball forward straight at Raphinha who, in fairness, did appear to stoop to direct his rebound header goalward past the hapless Benfica stopper.

Hope seemed short-lived for the away team though, when just four minutes late an own goal from skipper Ronald Araujo restored the hosts’ two-goal cushion. With just 15 minutes to go Barca looked set to succumb to another defeat but then they won a penalty which Robert Lewandowski converted (his second spot-kick of the clash). Buoyed by that they pushed forward and got an equaliser with just four minutes remaining following a short-corner routine.

At 4-4 Barcelona may have settled for a point but they weren’t done. They could easily have lost the game but the referee waved away two appeals for a penalty from the Portuguese side as a goalmouth scramble ensued. Barca hacked the ball away and whilst the crowd were still jeering wildly for a spotkick, Raphinha raced away and scored a fine goal on the break. VAR took a look at the earlier claims for a penalty but dismissed them, the Brazilian goal stood and Barcelona’s comeback was complete.

Raphinha and Lewandowski Flying But Can Barca Revive Season?


The result meant that Barca had qualified for the last 16 automatically as they are now guaranteed a top-right spot in the Champions League league phase. It also means that they maintain the good current run they are starting to put together. They have now won five of their last six contests, drawing the other, away at Getafe.

Amazingly that draw is the only league game they have played in their last six outings but they will really hope that they can take the momentum gained from decent results in various cups and use it to reignite their title challenge. They have played twice in each of the Copa Del Rey and Supercopa De Espana, plus the Champions League win over Benfica and now play Valencia in La Liga on the 26th of January.

After that they face something of a dead rubber (as far as they are concerned) in the Champions League, against Atalanta. The Italians are fourth in the Champions League table, two points behind Barca, and whilst they still have work to do to make the top eight, Barcelona, who will be at home, may opt to rest some of their stars.

Whilst they have many, many excellent players, including Lamine Yamal, Gavi and Pedri (that trio have won three of the last four Golden Boy awards!), there is no doubt that their true stars are Raphinha and Lewandowski. That duo have an incredible 46 goals between them already, with the Pole leading the way with 26.

Raphinha is undeniably in the form of his life though and whilst that has caught the eye of Man City, he seems unlikely to leave before the summer, if at all. Playing for Barca was his dream and whilst it took him time to settle, the 28-year-old has been stunning this term. As well as his many goals he boasts two Champions League assists (10 goal involvements in seven games) and eight more in La Liga (19 goal involvements in 20 matches).

Barca’s slump in form seems to be over but they now need to go on a very strong run in the league to battle back lost ground in the title race. If Raphinha keeps playing like he is at present, and Lewandowski keeps banging in the goals like he has for almost his entire career, it is not beyond them.