It wasn’t a drama, but it wasn’t a walk in the park either. Barcelona was defeated in the inferno of Westfalen (1:3), with hope briefly flickering twice for the home team that they might create one of the greatest miracles in Champions League history. However, Hansi Flick’s squad survived all the ‘yellow minutes’ and in the end, when everything is summed up—across all 180-plus minutes—they deservedly advanced to the semifinals with an aggregate score of 5:3. For Borussia, this marks a farewell to the Champions League likely for a full year and a half, since their chances of qualifying through the Bundesliga for next fall are slim. Meanwhile, Barca awaits tomorrow’s return leg in Milan between Inter and Bayern (first leg ended 2:1), to find out who their next opponent will be.No Borussia Dortmund player has scored more goals in a Champions League season than Serhou Guirassy 💛 pic.twitter.com/ptuiVp8bxT— B/R Football (@brfootball) April 15, 2025 Considering the level of competition and the opponent, Serhou Guirassy played the match of his life—scoring three goals, climbing to the top of the scorers list, and confirming his status as one of today’s best strikers. A record of 28 goals in 39 matches this season (along with nine assists) is worthy of every bit of respect. Borussia had to abandon its recognizable style, reducing possession to the bare minimum (which comes as no surprise, given they ran into the fountain of tiki-taka) and switched to direct football, which gave Barcelona a fair amount of trouble. Throughout the entire first half, the Catalans had only one shot attempt—which was blocked—and when Serhou Guirassy scored for 2:0 in the 49th minute, there was no doubt that Barca fans had some unpleasant flashbacks to the infamous Rome collapse of 2018, when Roma unexpectedly eliminated them after a 1:4 loss in the first leg at the Camp Nou.GUIRASSY SCORES A HATTRICK AGAINST BARCELONA!!! DORTMUND STILL HAVE A CHANCE!!!⚽️ GOAL: Borrusia Dortmund 3-1 Barcelona (AGG: 3-5) pic.twitter.com/Dkc7IzDPTu— WALLPAPER GURU (@GuruWallpaper1) April 15, 2025 Of course, Borussia is not that Roma, nor is Barcelona the same as seven years ago. Not for a moment did Hansi Flick’s face show any signs of panic. Not even five minutes had passed before the yellow cauldron fell silent—2:1. It was as if the German coach pressed the gas pedal the moment he sensed trouble brewing…Niko Kovač got everything wrong in the first match at Montjuïc—his player selection, strategy, and formation. But for tonight’s preparation, he deserves all the praise. He started with several new faces (Couto, Svensson, Groß, Bayer, Zile), opted for a back three, and—perhaps most importantly—managed to motivate his players after the debacle in Barcelona. Even that 0:4 stung less than Borussia’s powerlessness seven days ago… That’s Kovač’s greatest success: he restored his players’ confidence and self-respect, and a respectable farewell was the result—and the reward.What Borussia fans can particularly be proud of is the match statistics. It’s questionable whether anyone has put up such numbers against Barça since Flick took charge. What the stats don’t show are the two disallowed goals for the home team. One was scored by Pascal Groß, the other by Julian Brandt. That second one could have made things really tense, as it would have made it 4:1. The slow-motion replay immediately showed the referee was right—no need for VAR to intervene. The fact that Wojciech Szczęsny was Barcelona’s best player last night also says a lot about how well Borussia played. The Polish goalkeeper made—get this—eight saves?! Three of them were crucial, all in a single sequence early in the second half. The home side had hope, as did the 80,000+ fans in the stands, but truth be told, there was never a real threat of Barcelona being eliminated.UEFA CHAMPIONS LEAGUE – QUARTER-FINALSSecond legTuesdayAston Villa – PSG 3-2 (1-2)/Tielemans 34, McGinn 55, Ekonsa 57 – Hakimi 11, Mendes 27/Dortmund – Barcelona 3-1 (1-0)/Guirassy 11, 49, 76 – Bensebaini 54(og)/Wednesday22:00: (2.70) Inter (3.65) Bayern (2.60)22:00: (1.75) Real Madrid (3.90) Arsenal (5.10)***odds are subject to change***
