Benfica, which is nothing special, has Barça groggy at the Estádio da Luz, infamously remembered for the 2-8 defeat inflicted by Flick's Bayern.
Szczęsny Has been the Antagonist of the First Half
The first half had a clear antagonist: the Polish goalkeeper Szczęsny.
Benfica took the lead in the early stages of the match with a play that caught the blaugrana defense by surprise. Lewandowski equalized with a penalty. It was a clear penalty due to a stomp inside the area on Balde.
Barça was starting to feel comfortable and dominate Benfica when, in an unfortunate play, Szczęsny miscalculated his exit in a Portuguese counterattack. He took down Balde and Vangelis Pavlidis scored Benfica's second goal and his own with Barça's goal unguarded.
However, the misfortunes for Barça didn't end there. Another mistake by Szczęsny in an exit turned into a penalty against Barça. The shot was converted by Vangelis Pavlidis, who achieved a hat-trick in just half an hour.
Barça Didn't Find Either Lamine Yamal or Raphinha
Szczęsny's mistakes are conditioning the match and have made victory at this cursed stadium very uphill for Barça.
Flick took a gamble by leaving Iñaki Peña on the bench, betting on experience, but Szczęsny showed the image of a rookie and inexperienced goalkeeper.
Raphinha and Gavi had the goal at their feet in two simple shots. However, the ball went out in the case of the first and was saved by the goalkeeper in the case of the second.
However, Barça hasn't found itself. It hasn't managed to feel comfortable on the field against a Benfica that has simply taken advantage of the opponent's mistakes.
Flick hasn't found the key. Benfica has deactivated Lamine Yamal and Raphinha. When these two players don't get into the game, the collective play suffers.
Barça must tune up in the second half because Benfica will try to take advantage of all the gifts it receives. Barça must step on the gas, raise the tone of its game, and find fluidity in its attacks.
It's vital that Lamine and Raphinha warm up. In the first half, they didn't exist.