Slot praises referee after Barcelona’s fightback against Benfica despite it costing Liverpool

LIVERPOOL, England (AP) — Barcelona’s spectacular fightback against Benfica on Tuesday meant Liverpool would have to wait another week to be confirmed winner of the league phase of the new look Champions League.

But manager Arne Slot was full of praise for referee Danny Makkelie playing so much stoppage time in the 5-4 win for Barcelona.

“Let’s start with a compliment for the referee in Lisbon,” Slot said. “Because for the times I’ve worked in football, I saw four minutes of extra time and then there was three minutes of time delaying and then at four minutes the referee blew his whistle.

“But this referee kept on playing for a while, so maybe that was not in our advantage this time, but I like to see these things.”

Liverpool confirmed its place in the last 16 with a 2-1 victory over Lille at Anfield. It looked set to advance as league winner until Barcelona’s comeback at Estadio da Luz.

Benfica led 3-1 and 4-2 in the game, but was stunned by goals in the 86th and 96th minutes from Eric Garcia and Raphinia, respectively.

Liverpool still tops the standings with a 100% record in Europe’s elite club competition this season.

Barcelona is three points behind in second.

Liverpool plays PSV Eindhoven in its final game of the league phase next week, while Barcelona plays Atalanta.

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James Robson is at https://twitter.com/jamesalanrobson

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AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer