Dortmund loss once again highlights the importance of two Barcelona players | OneFootball

FC Barcelona faced Borussia Dortmund for the third time this season, and after having already defeated them in the previous two games, the Catalans were the favourites to win this match as well. This was particularly the case as they had beaten the German side 4-0 only in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League quarter-final tie a week ago.

However, things did not go exactly as expected, as Dortmund beat the Blaugranes 3-1 last night, thus ending their unbeaten run since the start of 2025. Barcelona continued to struggle for the most part of this game and was nowhere near the team that has played so well since the start of the year.

Thus, this was a good game to take away some valuable lessons, and MARCA has highlighted the absence of two key players that resulted in this clear downgrade in the Catalan team’s performance, i.e., Inigo Martinez and Pedri.

The Basque defender did not start the game as he could have been suspended for the first leg of the semi-finals if he got a yellow card, and Hansi Flick did not want to take such a risk.

However, this decision also meant the lack of his enormous confidence and leadership skills in the Barcelona backline that the former Athletic Club player brings. His absence was felt even more keenly as Ronald Araujo has not been enjoying the best of form, and was clearly responsible for the third goal scored by the Germans.

Pedri was also rested for this game by Flick, and it was already quite easy to predict the effect his absence would have on the team.

As was the case after his substitution in the first leg of the semi-final tie against Atletico Madrid in the Copa del Rey, his absence made it quite difficult for the Blaugranes to retain composure and possession in midfield, allowing their opponents to create a lot of chances. Fermin Lopez and Gavi contribute a lot to defense, but neither of them helps control the game as much as Pedri.

Luckily, this loss is not going to have any long-term implications for Barcelona, as they advanced to the semis on aggregate. But this game still showed the importance of these two players in Hansi Flick’s schemes.