Barça should have cruised by Dortmund, instead they nearly crumbled

DORTMUND, Germany -- There was almost a reluctance from Barcelona's players to go and celebrate with their supporters on Tuesday after reaching a first UEFA Champions League semifinal since 2019. The satisfaction of moving into the final four was contrasted with what had been a humbling 3-1 defeat against Borussia Dortmund, with the competition's new top-scorer Serhou Guirassy stealing the show, if not quite the tie in the end, with a hat trick.

This tie appeared done and dusted last week when Barça won 4-0 at the Olympic Stadium, but they played with fire here. Guirassy's treble was not enough to knock them out, but there had been fleeting moments during the game when past European capitulations, against AS Roma and Liverpool, were present.

In the end, they held on, winning 5-3 on aggregate to set up a semifinal against either Bayern Munich or Internazionale. And Dortmund were never actually within one goal of Barcelona, but they suffered a few jabs along the way as they lost for the first time in 2025, a 24-game unbeaten streak ended and a few doubts seeded.

Several minutes after the final whistle, Raphinha, worn out, picked himself up off the pitch. He joined his teammates in front of the 3,000 travelling Barça fans. The celebrations, though, were subdued for a team that had finally put a club that has fallen twice into the UEFA Europa League in recent years back onto the continent's biggest stage.

Coach Hansi Flick said that mood continued down the tunnel.

"There wasn't a great atmosphere in the dressing room," Flick said in a news conference. "It was only when I told them 'Lads, we're into the semifinal' that it lifted a bit. But, of course, that is what the team expects of itself. They want to win every game. Today they are a little disappointed."

Flick did not want to dwell on the negative. He said he will analyse the match in the coming days. He wanted to put the focus firmly on what this young squad has done so far this season. Not only are they into the semifinal, but they lead LaLiga by four points, have a Copa del Rey final to come, and have already won the Spanish Supercopa.

However, it's inevitable that Tuesday's display in Dortmund will be seen as a warning ahead of bigger tests on the horizon: a Clásico Copa final against Real Madrid on April 26, followed by either Bayern or Inter Milan over two legs for a place in what would be a first Champions League final since they last won the competition in 2015.

It's normal that there are still questions to be asked. No one expected Barça to be where they are now at the start of the season after a trophy-less year last time out. Raphinha, Robert Lewandowski and Lamine Yamal have been the best attack in Europe, scoring 82 goals between them, and firing Barça this far in the Champions League.

But without the injured Alejandro Balde, replaced by rookie Gerard Martín, and with Iñigo Martínez and Pedri rested, Barça wobbled in the early stages against Dortmund.

With the 24,454-capacity Südtribüne -- better known as The Yellow Wall -- driving Dortmund on, as pyrotechnics from the away end rained down on the home supporters, there were early fireworks on the pitch. Last-gasp clearances from Pau Cubarsí and Ronald Araújo were the precursors to a penalty, given away by Wojciech Szczesny and dispatched by Guirassy.

Getting to 1-0 at half-time seemed like a win for Barça, with Dortmund's xG (expected goals) after 45 minutes 2.05 to the Blaugrana's paltry 0.02. The hosts needed an early goal after the break, though, to really ignite the tie and it arrived when Guirassy headed in at the far post from a corner which Barça failed to defend properly.

Ramy Bensebaini's own goal shortly after appeared to have ended their hopes but Guirassy struck again, capitalising on an Araújo error to net his 13th goal in the Champions League this season and give Dortmund over 15 minutes to find two more goals. They did not find them, but Barça were wobbling, with tired legs and doubts in their minds.

It was a night when few players earned a pass. Szczęsny was slow for the penalty, Jules Koundé regularly misjudged Barça's high defensive line, Araújo made mistakes, Fermín López lost his shooting boots and Yamal looked, at times, like a 17-year-old starting his seventh game in 20 days. Raphinha has also not quite been at his best since the international break, while the control usually supplied by the rested Pedri was a huge miss until his introduction.

"I am delighted to be in the semifinal, but I am disappointed with how we played," defender Kounde told reporters. "We lacked everything we displayed in the first leg: pressing, closing passing lanes. We were not good enough.

"We made too many errors. Flick told us we had to improve in the second half and maybe we did slightly. Now we just have to keep doing what has taken us this far this season. We can't stop doing what we've done until now."

Flick was able to step back from the mayhem of Signal Iduna Park, which were 90 minutes of a much larger picture this season.

"What's important is that we are in the semifinal," he said. "We have to view things positively. What the team has done is phenomenal. Every day since the international break they have been ready to play, training at a high level and with a really professional attitude.

"Today we didn't show what we want. We will analyse that, but we have improved this season. We are still in three competitions. We are in the Champions League semifinal. This is a huge success and something we should be very happy about."

The bar has been raised at Barça, though. The expectations at the start of the season are not what they are now. You only had to see that 'Barça are back' banners around Dortmund on Tuesday to see the excitement brewing among the fanbase. Tuesday's result will either be viewed as a bump along the road to success or a sign that this team still has strides to make to complete its comeback.

As Flick says, what comes next is what is important now.