BVB bow out with heads held high after 3-1 win over Barcelona | OneFootball

Dortmund's dream of a football miracle remained alive until the end of a memorable evening. Only one team played football to begin with, while the other floundered. Driven on by a fantastic crowd, wave after wave of attack rained down on the FC Barcelona goal. Serhou Guirassy opened the scoring at 1-0 from the penalty spot in the 11th minute, but a second goal by Pascal Groß shortly afterwards was disallowed for offside. Barca managed to extricate themselves somewhat eventually, however, Dortmund started the second period as brightly as they had the first. Guirassy doubled the advantage to 2-0 three minutes after the restart, only for Ramy Bensebaini to turn the ball into his own net a short while later. Guirassy's third goal with a quarter of an hour left brought fresh hope, with Julian Brandt also scoring. But that, too, was offside.

The scenario:   Following the 4-0 defeat in the first leg, Borussia Dortmund needed to win by a four-goal margin in order to force extra-time. But in their European history, they had never overcome a deficit of more than two goals from the first leg.

Personnel matters:  BVB went into the return fixture without the injured Emre Can (muscular problems) and Carney Chukwuemeka (knock to the thigh) plus Marcel Sabitzer and Nico Schlotterbeck, who both have knee injuries. There were four changes compared to the 2-2 draw in Munich on Saturday: Bensebaini, Couto, Nmecha and Adeyemi replaced Can, Ryerson, Özcan and Brandt.

Tactics: In contrast to the first leg (4-2-3-1), Niko Kovac opted for the three-man defence that has been deployed with success in the last three Bundesliga matches and a flexible attacking line-up, sometimes with one striker and sometimes with two attackers when Adeyemi pushed up level with Guirassy. Nmecha and Groß formed the defensive midfield duo, with Nmecha playing the ball quickly to the forwards or to Beier in a centre-right position upon regaining possession.

The match & analysis:

The Black & Yellows vehemently pursued the opening goal from the outset, with the first goalscoring chance already coming in the fourth minute. Adeyemi ran towards the penalty area and played over to Svensson on the left flank. His low cross took a minor deflection off Cubarsi, meaning Guirassy could only make contact with the tips of his toes and Szczesny made the save.. Shortly afterwards, Svensson did not generate enough power behind his attempt from 16 metres (6). And so it continued, with Barcelona's box under siege. Guirassy narrowly missed, Couto was winded following a collision with Fermin and Groß chased a ball from Adeyemi, only to be brought down by Szczesny (9). Referee Mariani immediately pointed to the spot and Guirassy confidently slotted home for 1-0.

After 11 minutes, one quarter of the first-leg deficit had been wiped out. And the stadium was shaking. "European Cup" boomed out from the stands. Every successful action was celebrated frenetically. In the 16th minute, Groß latched onto Nmecha's pass, bore down on the Barca goal alongside Guirassy and slotted home, only for the offside flag to go up. Bensebaini met a corner-kick with a header on the right corner of the six-yard box; Szczesny saved. Ten minutes later, Beier headed a free-kick cross from Groß into the shot-stopper's arms. More was possible. After Svensson's ball in behind the defence, Adeyemi got a shot away from a centre-left position in the box but the angle was too tight and Szczesny made the save (37).

The Black & Yellows kept trying to go forward. Barely three minutes had been played after the restart when Adeyemi turned on the tempo in a centre-left position and went past Koundé. His low shot was blocked by Szczesny's left foot but Svensson squared the loose ball over to Groß, whose powerful shot was turned behind for a corner by the goalkeeper at full stretch. The ensuing set-piece was delivered by Svensson towards the back post, where Bensebaini won the aerial battle and headed the ball across to Guirassy, who headed the ball home to double the lead to 2-0 (49). But five minutes later, Barcelona attacked down the right flank. Fermin fizzed the ball inwards and Bensebaini attempted to turn it behind for a corner but instead put it into his own net. That goal subsequently lifted Barca's self-belief and appeared to have dampened the mood in the stands.

The introduction of Pedri gave the FC Barcelona midfield more structure, while the goal back did the rest. The wind was initially knocked out of the sails of BVB, who had been dominant and courageous up to that point. Kovac brought on Duranville and Reyna for Beier and Nmecha, who had worked hard. And the young Belgian ensured fresh hope with his first involvement. Duranville won the ball down the right flank, left two opponents trailing in his wake and then continued his dribbling run before cutting the ball back from the byline. Araujo cleared to the feet of Guirassy, who hammered home from six metres out to make it 3-1 in the 76th minute. Directly after Barca had kicked off, BVB won the ball back and Groß played it to fellow substitute Brandt, who believed he had made it 4-1 only for the goal to be ruled out for offside.

Outlook:  The Bundesliga season run-in starts with a home game against Borussia Mönchengladbach on Easter Sunday (kick-off 17:30 CEST).

Teams & goals

UEFA Champions League Quarter-Final Return Leg Tuesday 15 April 2025, 21:00 CEST BORUSSIA DORTMUND 3-1 (1-0) FC BARCELONA

Bor. Dortmund: Kobel – Süle, Anton, Bensebaini – Couto (Brandt, 77), Nmecha (Reyna, 64), Groß, Svensson – Beier (Duranville, 64), Adeyemi (Gittens, 77) – GuirassyFC Barcelona: Szczesny – Koundé, Araujo, Cubarsi, Martin – de Jong – Fermin (Garcia, 70), Gavi (Pedri, 59) – Yamal (Ferran Torres, 70), Lewandowski (Dani Olmo, 86), RaphinhaSubstitutes: Meyer, Lotka, Ryerson, Özcan, Mané, Kabar, Wätjen – Pena, Kochen, Christensen, Fort, Martinez, Pablo Torre, Fati, Pau Victor Goals: 1:0 Guirassy (penalty for foul on Groß by Szczesny, 11), 2-0 Guirassy (Bensebaini, 49), 2-1 Bensebaini own goal (Fermin, 54), 3-1 Guirassy (Duranville, 76)Corners: 8-4 (4-1 at half-time), chance ratio: 9-4 (5-1)Referee: Mariani (Italy), yellow cards: Nmecha – de JongAttendance: 81,365 (sold-out), weather: dry, 15 degrees