Tempers flared after Barcelona beat Benfica 5-4 in the Champions League (Image: Getty)
Police were forced to intervene after Benfica and Barcelona players became embroiled in a fiery clash in the tunnel following their nine-goal Champions League thriller in Lisbon.
The Catalan giants pulled off a remarkable comeback at Estadio da Luz, battling back from 3-1 and 4-2 down, to clinch all three points with a stunning 96th-minute winner from Raphinha.
But the nine-goal thriller was marred by ugly scenes at the final whistle when the players entered the tunnel to head to the dressing room.
According to audio picked up by microphones from Spanish outlet Movistar, the situation reached such a point that the police had to intervene to defuse the situation, with players reportedly heard shouting and scuffling amongst each other.
Barca winger Raphinha claimed the fracas began when he was verbally abused by members of the opposition and they traded insults, admitting the situation became “heated” inside the tunnel.
“I am a person who respects everyone. When I came out [into the tunnel], there were people who insulted me, I gave it back to them,” Raphinha said.
“I know it’s not the right thing to do, but in the end we all got heated. In my opinion they could have understood the situation, but they preferred to insult me.”
The Brazilian, who apparently had to be separated from Benfica’s players, added: “Benfica’s side could have fought back. If they respect me, I respect them. It’s normal in football in a match like this [for there to be tension].”
Barcelona winger Raphinha claims he was ‘insulted’ by Benfica’s players (Image: Getty)
The incident overshadowed what had been an extraordinary game in the Portuguese capital as, for the first time in Champions League history, a team won by a 5-4 scoreline.
That had looked unlikely for the La Liga giants after a poor first-half performance, with Vangelis Pavlidis scoring a hat-trick inside the first 30 minutes for the hosts after Robert Lewandowski had intiially levelled with an early penalty.
Raphinha gave them a glimmer of hope before a Ronald Araujo own goal made it 4-2. But back came Hansi Flick’s side, with Lewandowski scoring from the spot again on 78 minutes.
Eric Garcia brought them back level with four minutes to go before Raphinha took advantage of a late counterattack to slot home underneath Antoliy Trubin.