Barcelona reach Champions League semi-finals despite 3-1 loss at Borussia Dortmund
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Barcelona players celebrating at the end of their quarter-final second leg match against Borussia Dortmund, on April 15.
PHOTO: AFP
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DORTMUND – Barcelona coach Hansi Flick said that his side deserved to reach the Champions League last four despite a 3-1 loss in their quarter-final, second leg at Borussia Dortmund on April 15.
Barca’s impressive 4-0 win at home in the first leg left their Bundesliga opponents needing a miracle to reach the semi-finals for the second straight season.
Dortmund made Flick’s team sweat, with Serhou Guirassy scoring a hat-trick in a dominant victory, but Barcelona managed to secure a 5-3 aggregate win to reach the semis for the first time since 2018-19.
“We played two games and it’s justified that we’re through. I don’t want to talk too much about my team, because it wouldn’t be fair to Dortmund,” said Flick.
“Dortmund did very well. We did not have our best day. I had a feeling something like that would happen today because I know the stadium well. They made our lives very hard, but what was important is we made it to the semi-finals.”
Niko Kovac’s side had two golden chances in the opening minutes before Guirassy’s chipped penalty in the 11th minute gave them a deserved lead.
After the break, the Guinea international striker headed in after Ramy Bensebaini’s nod from a corner four minutes after the restart.
However, Dortmund’s attempt to match Barcelona’s Champions League record of overturning a four-goal first-leg deficit in a knockout stage was derailed by Bensebaini’s 54th-minute own goal that settled the Spanish side’s nerves.
Poland striker Robert Lewandowski had put Bensebaini under pressure as he chased a cutback from Barca midfielder Fermin Lopez, and the Dortmund player stabbed the ball into his own net.
Guirassy, the first Dortmund player to score 13 goals in a single Champions League campaign, completed his hat-trick in the 76th minute, pouncing on a defensive error at the Westfalenstadion.
Lopez said the experience of a loss would make the Catalan side stronger. Through to the Copa del Rey final and four points ahead in La Liga, Barcelona remain on track for a treble.
“Dortmund have a really good team, you saw that today. Last week, we made them suffer at our place. Today, we suffered here but, in the end, we were able to limit the damage,” said the 21-year-old.
“We’re now in the semi-finals and can draw a lot of strength from this game today because it was a big task.”
The defeat was Barcelona’s first in any competition in 2025, but Flick added that he had “full trust that we’ll get back on track”.
“Now’s the time to celebrate what we’ve done, getting to the semi-finals, then we can get back to analysing what’s ahead of us,” said the 60-year-old German.
Barcelona’s Robert Lewandowski (second from left) reacts as Dortmund’s Ramy Bensebaini (left) scores an own goal, past Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel.
PHOTO: AFP
Meanwhile, there was disappointment in the Dortmund camp, despite their hard-fought victory.
“We wanted to play better and more courageously and support each other more on the pitch,” said Dortmund’s Pascal Gross.
“We did that today and it was a completely different game. It’s a shame we didn’t play like that in the first leg.” AFP, REUTERS
Dortmund’s Serhou Guirassy (second from left) scoring his team’s second goal.
PHOTO: EPA-EFE
