With its colourful, cobbled streets, Lisbon is one of the most picturesque cities in Europe, a slice of metropolitan heaven. But as far as Barcelona are concerned, the Portuguese capital is becoming their own personal hell.
13 months after that humbling 8-2 defeat to Bayern Munch, the Catalan Kings once again looked like paupers at the Estadio da Luz. And, in many ways, last night’s 3-0 thrashing by Benfica was even more humiliating for Barcelona than the eight-goal dismembering by the German champions.
While undeniably a talented crop, this isn’t a Benfica side chock-full of superstars.
Barcelona were given the run-around not by Robert Lewandowski, Joshua Kimmich or Serge Gnabry but by a one-time Newcastle United loanee, a 34-year-old released by Tottenham Hotspur, and a midfielder who played just 14 games for West Ham during a short-lived spell in claret and blue in 2017/18.
Former West Ham man Joao Mario puts Barcelona to the sword
Joao Mario scythed through Barcelona’s one-paced midfield like a sharpened katana through warm butter last night, playing a sublime one-two in the build up to Benfica’s second goal just minutes into the second half.
In fact, if there was one midfielder who performed like a man befitting of the Barcelona badge on a balmy September evening, it was the 28-year-old Portugal international.
After a couple of seasons in the wilderness, Mario has been a man reborn since returning to his Iberian home. He helped Sporting Lisbon to win their first Primeira Liga title in two decades last season before making the short trip across the capital in July.
And, as Benfica put Barcelona to the sword – consigning the Spanish giants to successive 3-0 defeats in the group stage as they made their worst start to a European campaign since 1972/73 – Joao Mario went some way to winning over sceptics who questioned the arrival of a man who led their city rivals to glory just a few months before.
Clearly, Sebastien Haller, Ajax’s four-goal hero in match-day one, isn’t the only former West Ham man making up for lost time on the biggest stage.
Here’s what some fans on Twitter had to say about Joao Mario and Benfica’s bashing of Barcelona:
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