Honorable Farewell

At times, it seemed they were on the plane of the gods, and the Borussia Dortmund fans certainly entertained that possibility, but the dream was fleeting and Barcelona, despite their loss on Tuesday (3-1), managed to secure their continuation in this Champions League.

See Also

• Flick Defeated on German Soil: Not Our Best Day...
• Barcelona Advances Despite Loss to Borussia Dortmund in Champions League Quarterfinals

The home team fed off the yellow wall (and vice versa) in a brilliant start to the game, the second half even doubled the hope, but the visiting goal - an own goal - came at just the right moment, serving as a harsh reminder of the 4-0 result in the first leg. Naturally, history will remember the passage of the Catalans, but the German reaction, which included three goals and two others disallowed, deserves due recognition...

Barcelona is in the semi-finals and awaits the winner of the tie between Internazionale and Bayern.

Deconstructing the Impossible

No one wants to enter the second leg four goals down. Realism, paralyzing, grounds us and makes us question even the need for another 90 minutes between two teams that have already proven to be mismatched in quality. At the same time, professionalism (which no one can deny...) compels the losing team to deconstruct the supposed impossible and to build in its place a belief in something historic.

This was evident in the opening minutes of the game, during which Borussia Dortmund tried to completely eradicate the idea that they were ever inferior to this opponent. More than superior, they were utterly overwhelming and created - just in the first 10 minutes - enough chances to put the tie in dispute. Szczesny immediately stood out, but he fouled Gross and Guirassy scored from the penalty spot to make it 1-0.

With the stadium erupting, Dortmund even put the ball in the net a second time. Pascal Gross scored, but it was immediately called offside. It was the first of two goals disallowed for the home team, but the important thing was already done: the fans believed.

To further aid in this belief, Beier and Adeyemi continued to accumulate shots, but the Barcelona goalkeeper, perhaps too good to have started the season on the beach, continued to resolve. The net only moved again in the second half, which was even richer in emotion than the first.

The Mixed Feelings of Guirassy

The second half started as inspired as the first. Perhaps even more so, as the goal was nearly scored in the very first play and in the second, at 49 minutes, we saw Guirassy celebrate his brace with a header. Raphinha, who even tried to defend with his hands, found himself tied at the top of the scoring table.

The second goal came from a corner and was assisted by Ramy Bensebaini, but the Algerian defender, bipolar, threw it all away five minutes later by putting the ball into his own net. This own goal, the only one that got past Kobel, demoralized the team and fans alike.

The Blaugrana were back in the semi-finals, but there was a certain striker who stubbornly delayed any certainty. We're not talking about Lewandowski, always booed in this return to a former home, but about Serhou Guirassy, who still took advantage of a good play by Duranville (and a gift from Ronald Araujo) to score a hat-trick and bid farewell to the Champions as the top scorer.

Two goals away in aggregate and with just over a quarter of an hour to play, the Germans began to believe again. Julian Brandt aided in this effort by scoring the 4-1 (4-5 on aggregate), but this goal was also disallowed.

In the end, despite all doubts, nothing changed. Barcelona moves forward and the justice of it, although unquestionable, is mainly due to the 4-0 in the first leg. Dortmund falls, but with much honor.