Barcelona have one foot in the Champions League semi-finals after a sensational first leg performance against Borussia Dortmund in their quarter-final tie at the Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys.
Barcelona dominated the early stages as they sought a fast start to the tie, and although they were initially denied by Dortmund, they managed to find the breakthrough after 25 minutes. A corner sequence ended with Pau Cubarsi poking towards goal, and as he was just about to find the back of the net for the first time in the Champions League, Raphinha got the faintest touch to make it his own.
Dortmund should have equalised just before half time as Serhou Guirassy fluffed a big chance, and he was made to pay as Barcelona doubled their advantage only three minutes into the second period. Lamine Yamal crossed for Raphinha, who headed back across goal for Robert Lewandowski to score from close range.
Just beyond the hour mark, Barcelona got their third goal of the evening – and it was a second for Lewandowski. A flowing move ended with Fermin Lopez cutting the ball back to the Polish striker, who made it 105 Champions League goals by finding the back of the net.
And Barcelona were not done there, as they got a fourth on 77 minutes. Raphinha played in Lamine Yamal, and with only Gregor Kobel to beat, the 17-year-old made no mistake to cap off a wonderful performance from Hansi Flick’s side.
Barcelona will go to the Signal Iduma Park next Tuesday with a very healthy advantage. They are not there yet, but it feels almost certain that they will progress to the semi-finals of the Champions League, where they would face one of Bayern Munich or Inter Milan – the latter won 2-1 in their first leg at the Allianz Arena.
