Barça remains 2nd in group C with 2 points ahead of Lisbon, and will therefore play its qualification for the eighth on December 8 during the last day of group E in Munich against Bayern Munich who had corrected it 3- 0 on the way.

But at least he remains master of his destiny.

Uruguayan Benfica striker Darwin Nunez wrestles with Barcelona defender Gérard Piqué in the Champions League group match on November 23, 2021 at Camp Nou Josep LAGO AFP

Despite the scale of the challenge, the Catalans were not cooled by the downpours that spilled on the lawn of a half-empty Camp Nou: Xavi's men started the game thoroughly, and have multiplied the hot situations in front of the goalkeeper Greek Benfica, Odysseas Vlachodimos, imperial Tuesday night.

Sterile domination

The disillusionment was overwhelming when in the 85th minute Ronald Araujo had his goal canceled for an offside position as Barca pushed in to try and score a liberating goal that never came.

Dutch Barcelona striker Memphis Depay tries to dribble past Greek Benfica goalkeeper Odisseas Vlachodimos in their Champions League group match on November 23, 2021 at Camp Nou Josep LAGO AFP

But the disappointment could have been even more immense if Seferovic had framed his unmissable shot, alone against Marc-André ter Stegen in extra time punctuated by plenty of opportunities.

The Catalans still largely dominated the game.

Previously, they only really scared each other once, on a double big alert, around the half hour of play.

Marc-André ter Stegen then saved his family from a huge knee parade on a recovery from the head of Roman Yaremchuk (34th), and on the next corner, Nicolas Otamendi believed he had opened the scoring ... before the The referee does not invalidate his goal because the ball had gone out of bounds during its flight in the air, on the corner.

Apart from this fear, the Catalans have multiplied the big chances, without succeeding in scoring.

Xavi can however say thank you to his young talents, who carried the team throughout the game.

Nico, Gavi, Demir brilliant

Alongside a Sergio Busquets always flawless in his role as game distributor captain, Nico (19) started very strong, winning almost all his duels and projecting himself well forward.

Barcelona midfielder Gavi overwhelms his German Benfica counterpart Julian Weigl in their Champions League group match on November 23, 2021 at Camp Nou LLUIS GENE AFP

The Camp Nou then chanted the name of Gavi (17 years old), after a double grand-pont from the young Spanish international which made it possible to erase two defenders (30th).

Yusuf Demir (18) in turn harangued the audience, after his superb curled shot from the left crashed into the crossbar (42nd).

It was the best opportunity of the first period for Barça, with a strike from Jordi Alba in the 28th miraculously diverted by Vlachodimos ... before the big failure of the young Austrian international in the 52nd, and the head of Frenkie de Jong , on a cross from the revenant Ousmane Dembélé, stopped by the Belgian doorman in the 67th.

If with all these nuggets, the long-term future looks bright for Barça, in the short term, the situation is already straining for Xavi, just three weeks after his appointment.

Barça risks not seeing the knockout stages of the Champions League, a first since the 2003-2004 season.

© 2021 AFP