Many presumed that the tie was over before the evening’s action had started, but you wouldn’t be able to tell that by the noise being generated by the Yellow Wall or the frantic nature Die Schwarzgelben brought to proceedings.
Maximilian Beier hit a speculative effort from range, Serhou Guirassy had two chances, and Daniel Svensson let off a shot early on. Wojciech Szczesny then flew out and took out Pascal Gross to concede a 10th-minute penalty that Guirassy took with ice-cold composure, beating the goalkeeper with a Panenka.
Even though Gross was denied a quickfire second by the offside flag and the margin between the sides was so large, Barca looked visibly shaken, and Emre Can’s header had to be dealt with by Szczesny.
Yet, the hosts had a scare of their own following a mistake from Waldemar Anton, although Fermin Lopez missed the target and had already strayed offside.
The Blaugrana were still regaining an element of control, although Karim Adeyemi tested Szczesny and Jules Kounde couldn’t capitalise on a pinpoint cross from Frenkie de Jong.
Refusing to admit defeat, BVB flew forward again, and while Szczesny parried shots from Adeyemi and Gross, they were rewarded from the ensuing corner.
Ramy Bensebaini headed back Svensson’s delivery for Guirassy to nod it over the line just four minutes after the restart.
But having played an integral role in strengthening Dortmund’s hopes, Bensebaini heavily dented them five minutes later by turning Fermín’s driven cross into his own net.
While the Blaugrana took control following the goal, Fermin blazed his shot over after a wonderful passage of play, and Niko Kovac made a double change to freshen things up. De Jong helped Barcelona ensure that it didn’t initially have the desired impact, but Guirassy still pounced to get his hat-trick goal after Ronald Araujo failed to convincingly clear Julien Duranville’s cross.
Julian Brandt then thought he had reduced the deficit further, but was caught offside and Koundé blocked Svensson’s volley,
It was Dortmund’s night by a clear margin, but Barcelona held out to set up a UCL semi-final against Inter Milan or Bayern Munich – despite a first loss of 2025 after going 25 unbeaten to start the year.
The performance and result can at least act as some redemption for Dortmund ahead of their important Bundesliga game against Borussia Monchengladbach on Sunday, with a late thrust for a UCL return next season still in their sights.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Serhou Guirassy (Borussia Dortmund)