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.
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