Champions League: What a Difference a Week Makes

Benfica vs Barcelona

If I had been previewing this Champions League encounter a week or so ago, I would have perhaps fancied Benfica to get something.

And why not? A home match under the floodlights at the Estadio Da Luz can be inspiring for all connected with a club which has been champions of Portugal a record 38 times.

Furthermore, opponents Barcelona endured four successive La Liga defeats before the winter break, three home defeats in a row, one league win in seven, and the loss of the league leadership to both Atletico Madrid and reigning champions Real Madrid.

Fast forward seven days, however, and this SBOTOP observer is struggling to see beyond anything other than Champions League 2025 highlights for the visitors. That’s because they have returned from a mid-season jaunt in Saudi with massive spring in their step.

 

Talking Points

It hardly seemed possible when the team arrived in the Middle East for the Spanish Super Cup with on pitch problems compounded by off field issues, including losing a second appeal to register Dani Olmo and Pau Víctor for the remainder of the season.

But just as that saga was becoming a sideshow which was damaging the club’s reputation, the decision was overturned and the Catalan crew turned on the style.

A record-breaking 5-2 defeat of Real Madrid in the Spanish Super Cup final was clinical and meant they had scored four or more goals in consecutive matches for the first time in El Clasico history (they also defeated Real 4-0 earlier this season).

All this against Carlo Ancelotti’s team who had not lost in eight games in all competitions.

It all means that the blushes of club president Joan Laporta have been spared (for now) and leaves them to focus on the football, including knowing that victory against Benfica will all but secure their place in the last 16.

They currently lie second in the Champions League standings and have shown their pedigree including, much to the delight of manager Hansi Flick against his former club, in what was probably the Catalans’ best European match for four years.

Benfica obviously haven’t got the same resources of Barca, but they are doing ok, placed 15^th in the standings. A little off the pace but still handily placed at home, – just three points off the top of Liga Portugal – they have just secured silverware of their own, breezing past Braga to reach the Portuguese League Cup Final, inspired by a double from Argentine veteran Angel Di Maria.

They then lifted the trophy in a dramatic final penalty shoot-out against Sporting Lisbon.

If they can produce their best form, victory is possible, but sadly, Benfica has long been a club which has to sell its best players for financial gain and so may struggle to keep pace with an on-song Barca.

 

History

This has been a closely contested meeting traditionally with two Benfica victories, three Barcelona successes and four draws. Their most high-profile meeting was actually their very first. It was the final of the 1961 European Cup when Benfica ended a five-year monopoly on the competition by Real Madrid.

Sándor Kocsis and Zoltán Czibor found the net for Barca, but José Águas, an own goal, and Mário Coluna were on target to crown Benfica as champions of Europe.

They didn’t meet again until the new-look group stages of the competition in 1992 when a goalless draw in Portugal was followed by a 2-1 home win for Barca, courtesy of Hristo Stoichkov and Jose Mari Bakero.

Barca would go on to win the tournament for the first ever time that season.

Barca were also 2-0 aggregate winners over Benfica in the 2006 quarter-finals, the year they won the tournament for a second time.

They have met four times in the group stages since then, most recently a 0-0 draw in Spain in November 2021.

That was preceded by an emphatic 3-0 victory for Benfica when Darwin Nunez and Rafa Silva scored the goals and Eric Garcia was dismissed for the visitors late on.

 

Betting Tip

After their emphatic triumph in Saudi, I think Barca will be flying high and so does our Champions League 2025 betting odds, given the Catalans can be backed 1X2 @ 1.98 and Asian Handicap -0.50, also @ 1.98. A Benfica success is on offer 1X2 @ 3.12 and Asian Handicap +0.25 @ 2.19.

It’s hard to imagine this being a low-scoring affair, which probably explains why total goal 0-1 will pay out at a tasty @ 5.30. Total Goal 2-3 @ 2.28 and 4-6 @ 2.33 are far more likely options as far as I’m concerned.

I cannot see another 3-0 home win, like the last time they met in Portugal, but if you do, then a pay day of @ 55.00 awaits with Correct Score. Likewise, a re-run of their most recent meeting, is also an attractive option @ 24.00. I have to go for Spain to defeat Portugal in this.

   

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