Barcelona took a giant leap towards the Champions League round of 16 after beating Borussia Dortmund 3-2 on Wednesday night.
The contest at Signal Iduna Park burst into life in the second half after a non-stop opening period. Barça twice took the lead with Serhou Guarassy scoring a brace, but Ferran Torres ensured that the visitors grabbed the three points by scoring two own goals.
Hansi Flick’s side are now second in the league table, while Dortmund have fallen out of the top eight.
How the match unfolded
We’ve seen the aristocracy of Europe crumble under the lights of Signal Iduna Park, and the yellow wall was fervent in anticipation of Barcelona’s visit here.
The League leaders, however, were not affected by the atmosphere and immediately settled into the contest. Dani Olmo wreaked havoc between the lines early on, facilitating a couple of early chances to break through situations that Barça didn’t make the most of. Raphinha would probably have been called offside if he had converted Lamine Yamal’s Trivela cross.
After an excellent opening, Dortmund’s compactness began to frustrate Flick’s side, who struggled to make their moves at the back and at times hesitated to test the hosts’ block.
Dortmund were passive but compact, with an uninspiring opening 30 minutes followed by a brilliant finish to the first half. Marcel Sabitzer beat a great chance from Julien Duranville’s cut-back, while Guirassy pulled off a spot-on save from Inaki Pena before Giovanni Reyna’s cross was flagged wide.
The hosts were certainly more enterprising after the restart, and that contributed to the thrills and spills that ensued. Barça looked to be in full control of the contest, but Dortmund caught them again. Raphinha and Ferran Torres scored either side of a Guirassy penalty before the BVB striker scored his second of the game to bring Sahin’s side level for the second time.
With Flick’s substitutions disrupting Barca’s control, Dortmund looked more likely to pull off a memorable win. However, BVB defended from their own corner for the final ten minutes, allowing Barca to break at speed and access Ferran from behind.
The chance initially seemed to elude the Spaniard, but he got his feet inside the area and finished past Kobel to hand Barca a 3-2 lead. Although a sixth goal could not have been ruled out given the frantic nature of the second half, the visitors celebrated a huge Champions League triumph.
Check Bourssia Dortmund vs Barcelona player ratings here.
There have been some supreme performers for Barcelona this season, but none more impressive than Raphinha. The former Leeds United star struggled for Dazzle in his first two years at the club but is now fully fulfilling his ‘childhood dream’.
Raphinha put the captain’s arm back on, although he appeared to hold it in his left hand for parts of the contest. However, the Catalan flag stuck to his upper arm as he raced behind Dortmund’s backline and opened the scoring after a clever feed from Dani Olmo.
The Brazilian could have easily put the ball on a plate for Lamine Yamal to tap home, but there was only one thing on his mind as he entered the Dortmund box. His left finish was emphatic as he registered his sixth Champions League goal of the campaign in as many games.
27 Goal contributions in just 22 outings this term. This is Raphinha’s team.
There have been some accusations that Barcelona’s bench hasn’t fired this season, with Flick settling into a starting XI that is starting to show some wear and tear.
The German opted for a triple substitution with 20 minutes remaining in Dortmund, and it was one of those participants that won the game for the visitors.
Ferran is proving to be a useful alternative to Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski. He is relatively comfortable dropping or playing wide, but is most effective when penetrating in behind.
Ferran combined with substitute Fermin Lopez for his first goal, tapping home from range after Fermin’s shot was saved. His second, Teed Up by Yamal, was an excellent finish – one worthy of winning any match.
Barca may have surrendered more control in the final 20 minutes, but Flick will take great satisfaction knowing his changes are helping to tilt the contest in his side’s favour.
There is a promising generation at Dortmund, led by Jamie Gittens, and Sahin handed 18-year-old Duranville a first Champions League start on Wednesday night.
The winger has featured sporadically for BVB this season after suffering a hamstring injury in the autumn, but his performance against Barca highlighted a player who can have a big role to play in the side from Sahin.
Duranville fearlessly attacked Alejandro Balde one by one. He has a low center of gravity and a huge burst of pace that makes his dribbling style explosive. Balde was never quite sure what exactly Duranville was when the pair came up against Dortmund’s right. The winger is primarily on the left, but is comfortable with his right and capable of beating his man on the outside.
Duranville created the best chance of the first half after skipping Balde and setting up Sabitzer, but the Austria international finished with the save. It was a sequence that exemplified the wing’s menace, and while his second half was quieter, the yellow wall must have loved the teenager’s visits.
