Benfica found themselves in a difficult group, where they were the clear favorite in the person of Bayern, as well as the crisis Barcelona and seriously inferior in the class to Dynamo. Definitely, the team of Jorge Jesus had hoped for second place initially, but in the first match they stumbled in Kyiv, having scored a goalless draw with Dynamo. However, in the second round the Eagles were much more convincing. In the home match with Barcelona they scored three times, having managed to keep their gates shut. Two defeats to Bayern with a total score of 2:9 did not leave Benfica the right to make mistakes in the away match with Barcelona. The Eagles did not take full advantage of their chances. A zero draw left them on the third line, but the blue pomegranate have only two points more.
Barcelona is going through hard times. The start of Ronald Koeman’s team was a failure in all directions. In the Champions League, even taking into account all the problems of Blaugranas, Barcelona was considered a clear contender for a ticket to the playoffs. If it was almost unrealistic to compete with Bayern for the leadership, then the club probably hoped to snatch the second place to Benfica. So far Barcelona are second in the group with seven points, being two points ahead of Benfica. In general, the outcome of the group stage depends entirely on the “blue-garnet”. A victory in Munich guarantees them access to the playoffs, with any other result there is a risk of remaining third. In the championship Barca is still seventh, with the arrival of Xavi the situation has not improved dramatically. In the last round at home Barcelona lost 0:1 to Betis.
