Benfica drew 0-0 with Barcelona in the Champions League at the Camp Nou on Tuesday night, meaning the second team to qualify for the Round of 16 from Group E behind Bayern Munich will advance to the group stage final.
Barারa are still two points ahead of Benfica in a game, but in the final group they will face a tough task as they face Bayern Germany, who still have a perfect winning record. Meanwhile, Benfica will host unbeaten Dinamo Kiev at home in their final match in Lisbon.
The Benfica manager said on Monday that the draw would be "worse for Barcelona" and that he was right. Benfica defended strongly, stopping the attack with a solid five-man defensive line, Barcelona controlled the ball most of the time - but were far from their target.
For Bar্সa, however, the match was another disappointment, with only two goals to their name in five games in the group stage.
Bar্সa defender Ronald Araujo later told reporters simply: "We had a great game, we had a good attitude, we defended well - it was just the goal that was missing. We still have the last game. It's complicated but not impossible against Bayern."
Barcelona's first challenge of the day was seen just hours before the game, when a storm hit the city, heavy rain, but it did not prevent the formation of 49,572 supporters at the Camp Nou.
Although the new manager Xavi seems to have quickly solved many problems such as team intensity, rhythm, ball control and concerted efforts, scoring remains a problem.
Barারa had 61% of the ball but a goal from Youssef Demir's shot in the first half, a header from Frankie de Jong after the break and a volley from Araujo created several chances that were denied to him just because he was in the offside position. Benfica also had a chance, but Bar্সa keeper Mark Andre Ter Stegen headed out Roman Yaremchuk, with Harris Seferovic failing to score the winning goal in counter-attack at stop-time, annoying his coach.
"In my 30 years as coach, I have never seen a player miss out on such an opportunity. Unfortunately, this has happened to us," George Jesus told reporters.
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