Barcelona have taken a massive step towards an automatic spot in the Round of 16 of this season’s UEFA Champions League thanks to a wild 3-2 victory away to Borussia Dortmund at the Signal Iduna Park on Wednesday night. After an uneventful first half the game was absolutely breathtaking in the final period, and Ferran Torres scored twice off the bench to give Barça their fifth straight League Phase win and move them to second place in the standings with two games to go.
FIRST HALF
The story of the first half was Barça’s dominance of possession not translating into real chances, as the Blaugrana did come close a couple of times and forced Gregor Kobel to make a few stops but never created a true, golden goalscoring opportunity.
Dortmund meanwhile decided to concede possession, defend deep inside their half and counter-attack with purpose using the speed of their wingers and the physical presence of striker Serhou Guirassy, who was a menace throughout the period and could have easily found the net if not for Barça’s offside trap, which worked perfectly and denied the home team some monster chances.
The Blaugrana’s success with their high-risk defensive style was easily the best part about their first half performance, while the attack was annoying to watch at times thanks to loads of sideways and backwards passing that did nothing to threaten Borussia’s backline and led to moments of visible frustration for the likes of Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski, who made constant runs in behind without getting passes from their teammates that could have led to chances.
The halftime whistle came to end a goalless period that should have featured more efficient football from Barça, who were doing good things but lacked the aggressiveness required to find the chances and the goals. Would they change in the second half, or would Dortmund make them pay and ignite the home crowd even more?
SECOND HALF
The hosts almost made a dream start to the second half when Julien Duranville gave Guirassy a tap-in just five minutes in, but Barça’s offside trap did its job again and the goal was ruled out.
Three minutes later, the offside trap didn’t work for Dortmund and Barça took advantage as Raphinha was played through on goal by Dani Olmo and fired a rocket into the bottom corner to put the visitors ahead and give them a chance to take full control of the action.
But Pau Cubarsí made a bad mistake pushing Guirassy in the back inside the box right in front of the referee, making it an easy decision to give the home team a penalty. Guirassy scored from the spot, and the game was tied again at the hour mark.
10 minutes later came a triple change from Hansi Flick, with Raphinha, Olmo and Lewandowski all coming off for Fermín López, Frenkie de Jong and Ferran Torres as the coach added some fresh legs for the final 20 minutes of action.
And the substitutions had an immediate impact: four minutes after they came on two of the new players were involved in Barça’s second goal as Jules Kounde’s cross found Fermín, who had his volley saved by Kobel at first but Ferran was quickest to the rebound and put the away side back in front.
Barça’s joy was short-lived, however, as Dortmund finally beat the offside trap with a pass from Yan Couto that found the run of Pascal Gross, who got to the ball before Iñaki Peña and gave Guirassy an easy tap-in for his second goal of the night to set up a wild finish.
The two teams were wide-open in the final 10 minutes, unable to keep possession and playing very direct football trying to create quick chances with balls over the top. The Yellow Wall went nuts, and it was impossible to predict a winner.
Then with five minutes to go came a giant turning point in the game: Barça counter-attacked off a Dortmund corner-kick, and Lamine Yamal found Ferran who fired the ball into the far corner to double his tally and give Barça their third lead of the night.
Dortmund had very little time to find a way to get a third equalizer, and sent everyone forward looking for a late chance. Barça focused on defending their lead and trying to finish things off on the counter, and Flick used his available substitutions to waste some time at the death.
The home team created one last chance in the dying seconds when a free-kick by Gross found the head of Nico Schlotterbeck from point-blank range, but the center-back somehow missed it and the final whistle came to give Barça all three points.
If the Real Betis game was crazy, this somehow found a way to top it in the second half. It was as back and forth as it gets, and Barça showed huge heart and resilience to keep punching back every time Dortmund challenged them.
What a game, and what a win.
Dortmund: Kobel; Ryerson (Couto 46’), Can, Schlotterbeck, Bensebaini; Nmecha, Reyna (Gross 73’); Duranville (Malen 73’), Sabitzer, Gittens; Guirassy
Goals: Guirassy (pen 60’, 78’)
Barcelona: Pena; Kounde, Cubarsi, Iñigo, Balde; Olmo (De Jong 71'), Casadó, Pedri (Eric 90+3'); Yamal (Víctor 90'), Lewandowski (Ferran 71'), Raphinha (Fermín 71')
Goals: Raphinha (53’), Ferran (75’, 85’)
