Borussia Dortmund produced a spirited second-leg performance to beat Barcelona 3-1 on the night, but it wasn’t enough to overturn a heavy first-leg deficit as the Catalan side progressed to the UEFA Champions League semi-finals with a 5-3 aggregate win.
Serhou Guirassy scored all three goals for the hosts, who dominated both territory and chances, but an own goal from Ramy Bensebaini midway through the second half helped Barça weather the storm and reach the last four, where they’ll face the winner of Inter Milan vs Bayern Munich.
As it happened
Roared on by the Yellow Wall, Dortmund came flying out of the blocks and were awarded a penalty inside ten minutes when Wojciech Szczesny brought down Pascal Groß after a slick move through the middle. Guirassy made no mistake from the spot to breathe life into the tie.
Barcelona were rattled, and the hosts nearly doubled their lead before the break as Adeyemi and Beier both forced saves from Szczesny in a rampant first-half showing. Barça, who had cruised to a 4-0 first-leg win at home, offered little in response.
The second half started in much the same fashion. Just four minutes after the restart, Guirassy headed in from close range after a clever knockback from Bensebaini, reducing the aggregate deficit to just two.
But just as the tie seemed to be swinging, Bensebaini inadvertently bundled Fermin López’s cutback into his own net to restore Barça’s three-goal cushion—one that proved crucial.
Undeterred, Dortmund surged forward and were rewarded with 14 minutes left when Guirassy completed his hat-trick, punishing a poor clearance from Ronald Araújo to make it 3-1. The hosts thought they had a fourth when Julian Brandt slotted home late on, but the offside flag cut celebrations short.
Barcelona held firm in a nervy finish to secure their place in the semi-finals, despite being outshot and outclassed for long stretches on the night.
The lineups
BVB: Kobel; Süle, Anton, Bensebaini; Couto, Groß, Nmecha, Svensson; Beier, Guirassy, Adeyemi.
FCB: Szczesny; Koundé, Araújo, Cubarsí, Martin; De Jong, Gavi; Yamal, López, Raphinha; Lewandowski.
