Bruno Lage had his Benfica players erupting on the pitch at full-time as they were undone by Barcelona in the final minute.
The Spanish side completed a sensational late comeback as Raphinha scored the winner in rainy 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 match on its head.
The Portuguese side were in control for most of the match, leading 3-1 and then 4-2 at the Estadio da Luz, but they still couldn't convert that lead into the three points.
Lage, previously in charge at Wolves, laid bare his emotions as he lamented his players on the pitch. Instead of holding the post-match debrief in the locker room, he opted to hit his players on the field while cutting an animated figure in the rain.
Vangelis Pavlidis scored a hat-trick to put Benfica in control of the match, but Robert Lewandowski's penalty in the 78th minute gave the Catalans some hope. Eric Garcia then leveled the match when he headed home with four minutes of the 90 left to play.
Benfica came on the attack in stoppage time and saw penalty appeals waved away before Barcelona released the ball. They found Raphinha, who went on a one-man mission to get the three points for La Liga.
Lage returned to Benfica in September, a club he previously coached. He was sacked by Wolves in 2022 but has won 18 of the 27 games in charge of Benfica so far, with the Portuguese team looking to chase Sporting Lisbon on home soil.
The win moves Barcelona into second place in the Champions League standings and into the last 16, alongside Liverpool, with games to spare. Hansi Flick has once again made the Spanish giants challengers in Europe and they will be keen to go far.
Benfica, meanwhile, still have their European future on the line. They will need a positive result on the final matchday to ensure they go into the knockouts, having won three and lost three so far.
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