(Reuters) – Benfica held Barcelona to a scoreless draw 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 be decided in the final game of the group stage.
Barca are two points ahead of Benfica with one game still to play, but they face a daunting task in the last group when they travel to Germany to take on Bayern, who have a perfect winning record so far. Benfica, meanwhile, host winless Dinamo Kyiv at home in Lisbon in their final game.
Benfica’s manager had said on Monday that “a draw would be worse for Barcelona” and he was true to his word. Benfica defended stoically, closing down attacks with a solid five-man defensive line, leaving Barcelona in control of the ball much of the time – but far away from their goal.
For Barca, however, the match was another disappointing struggle, and they now have just two goals to their name in five games in the group stage of the competition.
(Reporting by Fernando Kallas; Editing by Hugh Lawson)
