Multiple Champions League firsts have been set by Barcelona tonight in their astonishing 5-4 win away to Benfica this evening.
In a topsy-turvy evening, Benfica led 3-1 at half time, and 4-2 with just 12 minutes remaining, before a second Robert Lewandowski penalty of the evening and Eric Garcia's goal brought the visitors level at 4-4.
That was not enough for Hansi Flick's side though, as Raphinha bagged his brace in the sixth minute of injury time, latching onto Ferran Torres's clearance before beating Anatolii Trubin with the last kick of the game.
The win ensures Barcelona's passage to the last 16 directly, and means they could still pip Liverpool to top spot in the 36-team standings.
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Records tumble in Barca's barmy fightback
In the first ever game in Champions League history to end in a 5-4 win for an away team, Barca also became just the second team to win despite conceding four goals.
The only other occasion was when Borussia Dortmund beat Legia Warsaw 8-4 in a group stage fixture at the Westfalenstadion back in 2016.
Not only that, Barcelona managed to win a game in the Champions League despite going two goals down for the first time in the club's history, to keep them second in the league phase standings.
Barcelona complete their campaign with a trip to Atalanta on matchday eight next week, needing a win and a defeat for Liverpool against PSV Eindhoven to move into first place.
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Pavlidis enjoys bittersweet evening
Benfica striker Vangelis Pavlidis had a night to remember personally, despite his team's late collapse, scoring a first-half hat trick to put his side 3-1 up.
Pavlidis's third goal came on 30 minutes, and only two players have ever hit a hat trick quicker in Champions League history - Lewandowski (23 minutes versus RB Salzburg in 2022) and AC Milan's Marco Simone (24 minutes against Rosenborg in 1996).
The Greek marksman also became just the fourth player ever to score a Champions League hat trick against Barcelona, joining Faustino Asprilla, Andriy Shevchenko and Kylian Mbappe on an illustrious list.
However, on a more sour note, Pavlidis is just the fifth player to score a UCL hat trick, but still see his side lose the game, after Ronaldo, Gareth Bale, Irfan Can Kahveci and Christopher Nkunku.
Andrew Delaney
