FC BARCELONA COACH FLICK POST-BENFICA: 'I'VE NEVER EXPERIENCED A COMEBACK LIKE THIS BEFORE '

knockout phase.
UEFA VIA GETTY IMAGES

FC Barcelona head coach Hansi Flick confessed that he has "never lived a comeback like this before", after the Catalans beat Benfica 5-4 in the Champions League on Tuesday to guarantee automatic qualification to the elite European competition's knockout phase.

Barca went 1-0 down inside two minutes and trailed by a two-goal margin twice in Estadio da Luz amid Greek striker Vangelis Pavlidis completing a first half hat trick in just over 30 minutes.

Raphinha made it 3-2 shortly after the interval, yet there was another setback in store in quick succession as Ronald Araujo converted a cross into his own net past Wojciech Szczesny.

Down but not out, though, the Blaugrana was given hope by a second Robert Lewandowski penalty prior to Eric Garcia beating Anatoliy Trubin with a bullet header made possible by Pedri's delightful cross.

Then in the 94th minute, Raphinha ran as if his life depending on meeting a thunderous Ferran Torres clearance out of the Barca half and scored the winner.

And as the Brazilian confessed that he is in the best moment of his career and will "kill and die for this team", Flick made some admissions of his own following the full time whistle.

"It was a crazy game. The best thing was the mentality. This is football. I don't think I've ever experienced a comeback like this," he told Movistar.

Complimenting Benfica, Flick said that the Lisbon giants are "very good in transitions" and punished Barca.

"They forced us to defend very deep, as we were not well positioned. The substitutions helped us a lot," Flick added.

Though the penalty that allowed Pavlidis to complete his hat trick was soft, Szczesny was definitely to blame for the second goal where he misjudged a run out of the box and clattered into left back Alejandro Balde making it easy for the target man to give Benfica the lead again.

Asked about the Pole's error, Flick posed a question himself.

"Which player doesn't make mistakes? We all make them. We win and lose together. I liked what I saw in the second half," he stated.

Not one to rest on his laurels, Flick said that "we don't think about being calm" just because passage to the last 16 has been granted.

"For us it's important to focus on Valencia [in La Liga] now, and then Atalanta. We don't think about being calm. We want to beat Atalanta as well," he stressed.

- Tom Sanderson

GREECE GAVE 'SOUL' FOR BALDOCK IN HISTORIC WIN OVER ENGLAND

Greece's two-goal hero Vangelis Pavlidis paid an emotional tribute to George Baldock after his side's 2-1 Nations League victory over England at Wembley on Thursday.

British-born Greek international Baldock, who joined Panathinaikos from Sheffield United in May, died this week aged 31 after being found in a swimming pool at his Glyfada home.

The Wembley crowd observed a minute of silence before kickoff and Greece's players looked flat at the final whistle despite sealing their first-ever win against England.

During their celebrations they lifted a shirt bearing the name of Baldock.

"It was a very special day and match for us. Our thoughts are with George," Pavlidis said.

"We are professionals and had to play the match. We gave our soul for him tonight. Today is not a day to talk about football. He was part of our team. We will miss him very much.

"Also to wish strength to his family and not talk about football. The whole day was numb. We won tonight and don't want to celebrate. There are just no words."

Baldock, who was of Greek ancestry, was capped 12 times for the country, his last appearance coming in March.

Greece manager Ivan Jovanovic praised his team's spirit, saying they had been inspired to play in Baldock's memory.

"At such moments football comes second," he said. "The time he was with the team he made his mark and that was visible in the way the players played today."

- Reuters