Lucy Bronze preserved Barcelona’s unbeaten run but Benfica snapped the holders’ 23-match winning streak in a 4-4 draw in its final Women’s Champions League group match on Wednesday.
Bronze also made up for her own embarrassment in a seesaw match that defied its dead rubber tag, after the English defender scored an 81st-minute own goal that put Benfica 4-3 up.
She levelled deep into time added on, leaving the Spanish champions on 16 points in Group A ahead of runners-up Benfica on nine.
Lyon, Brann, Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea, Ajax and Haecken are also in the hat for next Tuesday’s quarterfinal draw.
Barca scored first through Caroline Graham Hansen and Particia Guijaro made it 2-0 on 20 minutes, but Marie-Yasmine Alidou scored a brace for Benfica to pull them level before half-time.
Hansen got her second in the 54th minute before Jessica Silva equalised for the hosts and Bronze’s own goal appeared to have given the Portuguese a surprise win until she struck at the other end.
Eintracht Frankfurt thumped Rosengard 5-0 to finish on seven points but both sides were already out.
Earlier, Slavia Prague dug deep for a 2-2 draw in its final group match at Group B winners Lyon thanks to a last-gasp own goal.
Lyon topped the group on 14 points, one ahead of Brann who beat St Polten 2-1, with both games being dead rubbers.
Lyon won the reverse fixture 9-0 over the Czechs and took a fourth-minute lead Wednesday when Amel Majri finished off a flying counter-attack.
But Slavia equalised five minutes later with only their second goal of the competition, while ‘keeper Olivie Lukasova made a string of saves to keep the visitors level.
Lyon was fortunate Vicki Becho’s 74th-minute tap-in stood after a handball in the build-up, but defender Vanessa Gilles scored an own goal late in the game from a sliding tackle to send the Czech outfit home with a semblance of pride.
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