Barcelona Survive Dortmund Scare to Reach First Champions League Semis Since 2019
Wow, what a rollercoaster of a night in Dortmund. If you're a Barcelona fan, you probably aged a few years during this match. Coming into the second leg with a comfortable 4-0 lead from the first leg, you’d think Barcelona could just coast through, right? Well, Borussia Dortmund had other plans—and Serhou Guirassy especially came to this game with fire in his boots.
The game kicked off with Dortmund on the front foot from the start, and it didn’t take long for the drama to unfold. Guirassy stepped up and calmly slotted home a Panenka penalty just 11 minutes in. That moment may not have rattled Barcelona completely, but it did send a clear message: Dortmund weren’t going down without a fight.
Then came the second half, and boom—just four minutes in, Guirassy doubled his tally with a classic striker’s header, and suddenly it was 2-0 on the night, 2-4 on aggregate. There was a flicker of belief buzzing around the Westfalenstadion. For a split second, it felt like history could repeat itself—Barcelona fans still have nightmares of that infamous Liverpool comeback. The tension was real.
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But then came the twist in the tale. Barcelona, who hadn’t lost in 24 matches, were finally wobbled. But they responded through an unlikely moment—a Ramy Bensebaini own goal that completely shifted the momentum. It was an unfortunate error, but for Barca, it was a lifeline.
Still, Dortmund refused to go quietly. Guirassy completed his hat-trick in the 76th minute, pouncing on a weak clearance from Araujo and rifling the ball into the net. 3-1 Dortmund on the night, 3-5 on aggregate. Suddenly, the impossible felt... maybe, just maybe, possible.
Dortmund pushed and pressed. The Yellow Wall was roaring, living every second of the match. Brandt even had the ball in the back of the net, but the flag was rightly raised for offside. As the minutes ticked down, Barcelona managed to hold their nerve. The final whistle blew, and while the night belonged to Guirassy and the Dortmund faithful for their heart and belief, it was Barcelona who advanced.
This was far from a perfect performance from Hansi Flick’s side. In fact, it exposed some of their vulnerabilities. But in a tournament like the Champions League, sometimes it’s not about playing the prettiest football—it’s about surviving nights like this.
So here we are: Barcelona, for the first time since 2019, are back in the Champions League semi-finals. They’ll have to do better to get past what comes next—whether it’s Inter or Arsenal—but for now, they’ve earned the right to dream again.
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