Borussia Dortmund could not recover from a first-leg demolition by Barcelona to reach the Champions League semi-finals, despite winning a thrilling return tie thanks to Serhou Guirassy’s hat-trick.
The Catalan giants appeared to have all-but confirmed their place in the last four for the first time since 2019 following their crushing 4-0 win at home.
But Dortmund put up a brave effort to come so close to a stunning turnaround in a dramatic second leg.
They planted a seed of doubt in Barca’s minds when Guirassy cheekily chipped a ‘Panenka’ penalty over Wojciech Szczesny in the 11th minute after the Polish keeper had brought down Pascal Gross.
The Guinea striker then halved the deficit four minutes after the break, but Dortmund’s dreams looked to have been dashed when Ramy Bensebaini sliced into his own goal just five minutes later to give the Spanish side a three-goal lead on aggregate.
After an enormous effort, where they created and missed a host of chances and had a Gross goal ruled out for offside, it seemed like the energy had drained from the hosts before Guirassy gave them late hope and a fighting chance.
He completed his hat-trick in the 76th minute by smashing a poor clearance into the roof of the Barcelona net.
Substitute Julian Brandt then broke clear to rifle past Szczesny, but his side’s celebrations were cut short by an offside flag.
It was a fabulous fightback, but Barcelona held on to reach the semi-finals of the competition for the first time since they let slip a three-goal lead in Liverpool’s famous second-leg comeback at Anfield six years ago.
They will face either Inter Milan or Bayern Munich, with the Italian side taking a 2-1 lead back to the San Siro for Wednesday’s second leg.
Dortmund fall short as Barca keep Treble hopes alive
Manager Niko Kovac said Dortmund would need a “miracle” if they were to overturn the 4-0 deficit. Only Barca had ever achieved that outcome in the Champions League with their epic comeback success against Paris St-Germain in 2017, winning the second leg 6-1 after a four-goal loss in Paris.
But after a frenzied start and a bold penalty finish from Guirassy after Szczesny clattered into Gross, there was a sense of belief brimming from the stands at Signal Iduna Park.
Former Brighton midfielder Gross, who missed the first leg through suspension, was a driving force for the hosts and had a goal ruled out five minutes later for offside, while Bensebaini and the lively Karim Adeyemi forced Szczesny into two fine saves before the break.
As they continued to unsettle Barca at the start of the second period, a miraculous result was within reach when Guirassy headed in from close range after Bensebaini had nodded a deep corner back into the box.
But the Algeria defender was left with his head in his hands when his attempt to clear Fermin Lopez’s delivery slammed into the back of his own net.
It was a crucial moment in the tie with Dortmund, ultimately, left with too much to do in the remaining 36 minutes, despite Guirassy adding a third to take his tally in the competition to 13 this season.
Kovac will now hope the club’s first win over Barcelona in seven meetings, and keeping their feared frontline of Raphinha, Lamine Yamal and Robert Lewandowski off the scoresheet, will spark his side for the remainder of the campaign.
With just five games of the Bundesliga season remaining, Dortmund are eighth – 27 points behind leaders Bayern Munich, but six off the Champions League places.
Having booked their semi-final place, Barcelona remain on course to wrap up a Treble of trophies as they sit four points clear at the top of La Liga and face rivals Real Madrid in the final of the Copa del Rey at the end of this month.