Barcelona Secures Champions League Semi-Final Spot Despite Loss to Dortmund

Barcelona, five-time European champions, have secured their first Champions League semi-final berth in six years with a 5-3 aggregate score, even after a 3-1 defeat by Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday. Serhou Guirassy was the star for Dortmund, netting a hat-trick to hand Barcelona their first defeat in 24 matches across all competitions this season. However, it wasn’t enough to stop the Spanish giants from advancing to the semi-finals for the first time since 2019. Awaiting them in the last four is either Inter Milan or Bayern Munich, who are set to clash on Wednesday.

“Dortmund performed excellently,” remarked Barcelona’s coach, Hansi Flick. “We didn’t have our best game, and I foresaw such a challenge given my familiarity with this stadium,” he added. “Although things didn’t go our way, Dortmund deserves credit for their play. Nonetheless, congratulations to my team for reaching the semi-finals. This achievement has brought immense joy to both the team and the club.”

The match kicked off with Barcelona on the defensive as Dortmund sprang into action, aiming to recover from their 4-0 first-leg thrashing. Despite their recent 2-2 draw against Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga on Saturday, Dortmund came out strong, creating two prime chances in the opening minutes. Guirassy capitalized on this momentum, scoring from a penalty chip in the 11th minute to earn Dortmund a rightful lead.

As the game progressed, Barcelona, who were undefeated in 2025 coming into this fixture, began fighting back. They almost drew level, but Jules Koundé’s missed opportunity in the 40th minute thwarted them. After halftime, Dortmund again came out swinging, with Guirassy heading in a goal just four minutes after the break, thanks to Ramy Bensebaini’s assist from a corner. This sparked hope for a stunning comeback to match Barcelona’s record of reversing a four-goal deficit in the knockout stages.

However, Bensebaini’s own goal in the 54th minute, under pressure from Robert Lewandowski pursuing Fermín López’s cutback, dashed those hopes. López himself nearly scored in the 64th minute, but his effort veered off target. Guirassy completed his hat-trick in the 76th minute, seizing on a defensive error by Ronald Araujo. Despite this, Dortmund still needed two more goals to force extra time, but their momentum eventually waned.

Pascal Gross of Dortmund reflected on the match: “We aimed to play with more courage and support each other on the field. Today’s performance was entirely different. It’s unfortunate we didn’t show this level in the first leg; it might have changed the outcome.”