Dortmund’s Very Long Night in Barcelona | OneFootball

Barcelona 4 – 0 Borussia Dortmund

Oof that was a tough game to watch if you were a fan of the yellow and black. Barcelona had four shots just in the first seven minutes; two from Lamine Yamal, one each from Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski that forced keeper Gregor Kobel into desperate saves.

That was just the first seven minutes. By the time the halftime whistle blew, I was asking myself: “How in the hell are Barça only up 1 – 0?” This was obviously a hypothetical question, as the obvious answer was Raphinha. He selfishly toe-poked a ball already crossing the goal line courtesy of his teammate Pau Cubarsí. It was a dick move, particularly since he was only millimeters onside. That would have been an awkward locker room chat had he been offsides and stolen Pau’s goal.

But in other ways the question was valid. Barcelona had been dominant, but it should be noted that Dortmund weren’t exactly toothless in the first half. Their leading scorer Serhou Guirassy had at least three clear chances, but only pressured Wojciech Szczesny into one easy save. Those squandered opportunities would hurt.

Second Half

It took all of three minutes for the trifecta of Yamal-Raphinha-Lewandowski to find a second goal. Lewandowski continues to flip the bird to Father Time with every goal, in this case a tight header that was far more difficult to hit in than he made it look. Those three would go on to combine for two more goals: another for Lewandowksi (his 10th in 11 CL matches this season) and one for Yamal. Raphinha was involved in both as well, serving as a dummy to give Lewandowski space and feeding Yamal for the assist.

Those three look unstoppable at the moment.

Until the 88th minute, Dortmund only had a single on frame effort. Two excellent shots from Giovanni Reyna and Julian Brandt in quick succession might have given the visitors a consolation goal, but both were blocked. The urgent athleticism of the Barça defenders to launch themselves at those shots showed the heart and desire wasn’t just sitting in the front three.

I don’t normally go in for bold predictions, but I think this quarterfinal has been decided.

Paris Saint-Germain 3 – 1 Aston Villa

For a brief moment the Cinderella story of this year’s Champions League, Aston Villa, looked to be the belle of the ball. Their high press forced PSG into an error in the 35th minute. The resulting counter-attack was a four pass field switching masterclass, culminating with Morgan Rogers’ simple tap in.

Alas, their euphoria only lasted four minutes. First, 19 year old Désiré Doué struck the post; a near prone Emiliano Martínez had to palm the ball off the line. Less than 30 seconds later after the corner kick, Doué received the ball on the far left, took a touch inside and hit a total banger up and over a flummoxed Martínez, who could only watch the ball kiss the crossbar and go in.

Second Half

Just like the Barcelona game, the host team struck quickly after the halftime whistle. For PSG the goal can courtesy of Georgian left winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia. With acres of space he took Fabián Ruiz’s pass and drove towards the box. With a lowered shoulder he broke defender Axel Disasi’s ankles, then powered his pull-back into the inner corner. He certainly looks to have been a shrewd signing over the winter.

The nail in the Villa’s coffin came from Nuno Mendes in stoppage time. Elegantly handling Ousmane Dembélé’s through-ball, he cut inside, beating Enza Konsa and confidently passed the ball into the net to give his side a two-goal advantage.

Read all about yesterday’s fixtures.