Guirassy hits treble as Barca limp past Dortmund into semis

Quarter-final 2nd leg

Borussia Dortmund 3-1 FC Barcelona (Agg. 3-5)

FC Barcelona secured a place in the Champions League semi-finals for the first time since 2019 but only after surviving a major scare in a thrilling second leg.

Serhou Guirassy struck a hat-trick as Borussia Dortmund attempted to overturn their 4-0 first leg defeat but the Bundesliga side fell short in their efforts to complete a memorable comeback.

The shock looked as though it might be on when Dortmund went two up on the night in the 49th minute before Barca appeared to snuff out German hopes when home defender Ramy Bensebaini put into his own goal. The tie was not over, however, and a late rally, kickstarted by Guirassy’s 75th minute third, left the visitors hanging during the frantic final stages of game and were clearly relieved when their progress was confirmed.

The heavy defeat at Montjuic last week meant the home side had to quickly impose themselves on the return if they were to have any chance of staging an unlikely comeback. And Niko Kovac could have no complaints with the way his payers set about their task, immediately pressing forwards and making life as uncomfortable as possible for their opponents.

Guirassy was unable to take two early have chances but soon made amends when Pascal Gross went down under a late challenge from Wojciech Szczesny, the Barcelona keeper. The pressure was on the forward to grab the lifeline and he made no mistake with an ice-cool Panenka finish high into the middle of the net.

It was the perfect start and the early lead only fuelled Dortmund’s efforts. The Catalans struggled exert their usual control and attacking strengths remained hidden for much of a first half that produced ten attempts on goal from Dortmund and just one for the visitors.

The Bundesliga side’s belief was growing and they carried on from where they had left off after the restart. Szczesny could only parry another effort from the excellent Adeyemi and then again when Gross fired in the follow up. But the keeper was powerless to prevent Guirassy from heading in his second from close range after Bensebaini had met the resulting corner and directed the ball back across goal.

Dortmund were back in the tie but their hopes then appeared to have been extinguished when Barcelona stepped up the pace and responded five minutes later with Bensebaini turning into his own net from Fermin Lopez’s cross.

The goal inevitably had a draining effect on Dortmund but they were revived when Guirassy punished Ronald Araujo’s mistake. There would be no turnaround though as Barcelona survived late pressure.