Dortmund’s miracle mission begins where Barcelona once collapsed | OneFootball

Borussia Dortmund has the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals awaiting with the weight of a mission that's statistically unlikely, historically infuriating, and emotionally draining. Barcelona won the first leg 4-0, and they arrive at Signal Iduna Park with the understanding that they can lose by as many as three goals and still win through. Which, let's be real, on a Champions League night, more or less means having the ticket punched for the semifinals. More or less.

But the problem is exactly in that "pretty much". European football has learned not to put icing on the cake prior to the whistle. And if there is any club that was taught that the hard way, it was Barcelona, who in 2017 transformed a 4-0 shortfall against PSG into one of the most anarchic, and mythic, nights in competition history. Today, ironically enough, the Catalan team is the one defending the absurd lead. On the contrary, there's a Dortmund never to have defeated Barça in the Champions League and with an alarming string of blunders against this kind of adversary.

Signal Iduna Park | Christof Koepsel/GettyImages

Signal Iduna Park, the setting and the quiet

On paper, Dortmund has the advantage of home ground. Home match, crowd pressure, the need to respond. But facts have other stories. In three home matches against Barcelona, Dortmund hasn't won even one. Two draws and a loss, the most recent this season: a 3-2 loss in December. If the supporters are clinging on to home bias, the figures send shivers.

And to add fuel to fire, if Dortmund fail to win again, they'll tie their record-long winning-less run vs. one Euro opponent: seven matches without victory in a row, the same period they remained apart for those thirty-three years between 1966 and 1999, respectively. Painful. Barça might pen yet another nasty page of history, but Dortmund are well on their way to an achievement that no side in the sport will ever relish having on their record.

The records changed

Barcelona's winning streak over German teams this season is, at the very least, unexpected. After years of struggling with Bundesliga sides, the Catalans have swept all three matches this season: 4-1 against Bayern Munich, and 3-2 and 4-0 against Dortmund. And to take into account, before this season, Barça had lost five straight to German teams in the Champions League, a combined score of 2-19. That change is enough to make analysts bewildered.

These numbers don't simply fill pre-match visuals. They show a team that adapted to fight against a style that would repeatedly haunt them. Barcelona dominated where they used to get outplayed. What was previously an issue now becomes ammunition. The technical and tactical superiority, especially in the first leg, was as evident as day and night.

FBL-EUR-C1-BARCELONA-BORUSSIA DORTMUND | LLUIS GENE/GettyImages

Borussia Dortmund's impossible mission

Losing the first leg of a Champions League knockout tie by 4-0 and needing a comeback at home would already be a nightmare. But when that scoreline is against Barcelona, it stings even more. To go through directly, Dortmund needs to win by five goals. Five. Against a team that just scored seven on Leverkusen and four away from home days ago.

Even if the German team wins 4-0 and is forced to turn to penalties, the scene is grim. Emotions are thick. So is urgency. And recent history? Particularly heavy. Barcelona has been there. They know how to play that game. They will approach the field with the advantage in hand and time at their disposal. No rush. No risk. And certainly no need to be open up.

The weight of the record

In six matches against Barcelona, Borussia Dortmund has never been victorious. Four losses, two draws. No victories, no consolation. And each subsequent encounter only deepens the pain. Barcelona may even become the first team to beat Dortmund away twice in one European campaign. That has not happened before. If that's the case, the script is closed either with a golden nib or a concrete sledgehammer.

Also, Barça's past in knockouts against German teams has been turned on its head. From punching bag to punisher. The figures speak for themselves. And in the Champions League, figures weigh more than a locker room pep talk.