Barcelona returned to the Champions League for the first time in six years on Tuesday night, after a 5-3 aggregate win over Borussia Dortmund. The tie was more or less over after a thrilling 4-0 win in the first leg, but the Blaugrana wobbled at times at the Signal Iduna Arena, with the home side putting Barcelona under severe pressure.
Eventually Dortmund would win out on the night 3-1, but their hopes were sunk by a Ramy Bensebaini own goal in the second half. It was a game that ended their 24-game unbeaten run in 2025 though, and the Barcelona players looked less than delighted at the final whistle.
“I’m relieved to say we qualified. We didn’t play well, but it’s hard to explain why. Many players didn’t perform well,” Frenkie de Jong told El Chiringuito, as quoted by MD.
“I think we know we can play a lot better than we showed tonight, and it leaves a bittersweet taste in the mouth. I’m sure we’ll be happier tomorrow to be in the semis.”
Ronald Araújo had a very irregular performance in Dortmund, and again left doubts about his fit into Flick’s system. @didacpeyret
— barcacentre (@barcacentre) April 16, 2025
Meanwhile Robert Lewandowski was highly critical of his teammates, telling them this was a lesson.
“We lacked control in midfield, we made a lot of mistakes. We lost possession, we gave away passes, we made it easy for the opponent. Today’s game must be analysed thoroughly. We have to learn from it. We can’t play like this.”
“If we were going to lose and make mistakes, it’s better that we made them at this stage. Going forward, there’s no room for those errors. We made it easy for Dortmund to create chances and score. Maybe this is the wake-up call we needed. We have to learn from this.” Lewandowski remarked to the same outlet.
“This match can be a good lesson to all of our young players. The Champions League is the Champions League and you always have to be prepared… not at 90% or 95%, no. 100%.”
Right-back Jules Kounde also said the dominant feeling after the game was disappointment.
“Reaching the semi-finals was a huge goal we had in mind from the start of the season, and we have to appreciate that, but to be honest, I’m disappointed. We lacked aggression, pressure, concentration, winning duels, and cutting off passing lanes…,” he told Sport.
“It’s what the coach asked of us, and we did it at times, but over the 90 minutes we didn’t do enough. I’m disappointed with the game because I know the team can do better.
Central defenders Ronald Araujo and Pau Cubarsi were a little more positive, but manager Hansi Flick admitted that he had to try and lift morale in the dressing room. Certainly two absences for Barcelona stood out significantly: they are neither the same defence nor the same midfield without Inigo Martinez and Pedri in the side, the latter coming on for the final half hour.
