Ex-Premier League boss fumes at his own players on pitch after nine-goal Barcelona drama
Benfica led a two-goal lead slip against Barcelona with the Spanish side eventually winning 5-4 before former Wolves boss Bruno Lage let rip at his players in Lisbon
by Samuel Meade · The MirrorBruno Lage let rip at his Benfica players on the pitch at full-time as they were undone by Barcelona in the last minute.
The Spanish side completed a sensational late comeback with Raphinha scoring the winner in rain-soaked Lisbon. The former Leeds man finished off a counter attack in the 95th minute as Barcelona scored three times in 18 minutes to turn the game on its head.
The Portuguese side had been in control for much of the contest and led 3-1 and then 4-2 at the Estadio da Luz, but they still couldn't convert those leads into the three points.
Lage, previously in charge at Wolves, laid his emotions bare as he lamented his players on the pitch. Rather than conduct the post-match debrief in the changing room, he instead chose to hammer his players on the pitch as he cut an animated figure in the rain.
Vangelis Pavlidis scored a hat-trick to put Benfica in command of the contest, but Robert Lewandowski's penalty on 78 minutes gave the Catalans some hope. Eric Garcia then levelled the game as he headed home with four minutes of the 90 to play.
Benfica found themselves on the attack in stoppage time and saw penalty appeals waved away before Barcelona cleared, finding Raphinha, who went on a one-man mission to seal the three points for the La Liga side.
Lage made a move back to Benfica, a club he has coached before, back in September. He was sacked by Wolves in 2022 but has won 18 of the 27 games he's led Benfica thus far with the Portuguese outfit looking to chase down Sporting Lisbon domestically.
The win ensures Barcelona sit second in the Champions League standings and will advance to the last 16, alongside Liverpool, with games to spare. Hansi Flick has made the Spanish giants challengers in Europe once again and they'll be fancied to go far.
Benfica meanwhile have their European future still sitting in the balance. They will need a positive result on the final matchday to ensure they go into the knockouts having won three and lost three of their seven games thus far.
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