Resilient Dortmund Gives Barcelona a F(r)ight | OneFootball

No second leg fixture where one team has a 4 – 0 aggregate deserves to be as exciting as this one was.

The First Half

Borussia Dortmund sure hit the pitch prepared to make a contest of this. Clearly they didn’t see a four-goal deficit as that much of an obstacle, and from the opening whistle pressed and prodded and harassed a flustered Barcelona.

How confident were they? In the 11th minute, Serhou Guirassy scored from the spot with a panenka. Daring such a cheeky maneuver that so often backfires speaks to his confidence.

After Wojciech Szczęsny’s crude challenge resulted in that penalty, I was questioning his inclusion. But he went on to record eight saves, thoroughly justifying his position.

The rest of that first half was so bonkers all I have are my notes, which I’m placing here without any edits: Barcelona is playing with fire with that high line. After 16 minutes: 5 attempts / 4 on frame for Dortmund. Zero for Barça. What a colossal B eff-up on the ‘30 free kick. Barça look disjointed. Their touch is for poop. Five saves in the first 30 minutes. Both teams 84%+ pass accuracy by ‘40.

The Second Half

The second half began with the same high-octane pace of the first. Dortmund recorded two shots on goal in first three minutes, then Guirassy bagged his second off the ensuing corner.

Barça’s attacking woes continued. Even Lamine Yamal’s famed left footed dribble and shots couldn’t find target (blocked). But in the 54th minute, an unfortunate own goal by Ramy Bensebaini did what Barça could not: deflate the crowd.

But only for a moment. The yellow and black army continued to be in fine voice, and they were rewarded when Guirassy gifted a sitter off a poor clearance. That goal, however, was really sparked by Julien Duranville’s blistering pace to keep the ball in play, then maneuver through two defenders to create the cross.

Guirassy’s perfect hat trick (right foot, header, left foot) puts him at 13 goals in the Champions League; it’s a shame he won’t move on to see how many more he could score.

Ultimately, this was a fantastic game, better than it deserved to be. Judging from the exhaustion exhibited by the red and blue after the final whistle, it was apparent Barça did not expect that level of resilience or fight from Dortmund.