Slot praises referee after Barcelona's win against Benfica, despite it disadvantaging him/them

Barcelona's Dramatic Comeback Impacts Liverpool, with Slot Praising the Referee

Barcelona's dramatic comeback on Tuesday against Benfica meant Liverpool would have to wait another week to be confirmed as winners of the new first phase of the Champions League.

However, manager Arne Slot had nothing but praise for referee Danny Makkelie for awarding so much stoppage time in Barcelona's 5-4 victory.

Praise for the Officiating Despite the Setback

"Let's start with a compliment to the referee in Lisbon," said Slot. "Because in the times I've worked in football, I've seen four minutes of extra time and then there were three minutes of delays in time and then at four minutes the referee blew the final whistle.

"But this referee allowed play to continue for a while, so maybe that wasn't in our favour this time, but I like to see these things."

Liverpool's Qualification and Match Development

Liverpool confirmed their place in the round of 16 with a 2-1 victory over Lille at Anfield. They looked set to advance as group leaders until Barcelona's comeback at the Estádio da Luz.

Benfica were leading 3-1 and 4-2 in the match, but were stunned by goals from Eric Garcia and Raphinha in the 86th and 96th minutes, respectively.