Barça have not played in a Champions League semi-final since 2019. Half a decade is far too long a wait. Now they are one of eight teams battling to be in the semis this season, and Wednesday at 9pm CEST they host Borussia Dortmund in the first leg of what promises to be an enthralling battle to face either Inter Milan or Bayern Munich for a place in the gran final.
Dortmund is a side Barça have already beaten once in this season's edition, 3-2 at Westfalenstadion. In a dramatic encounter, Barça took the lead twice through Raphinha and Ferran Torres, but on both occasions Dortmund quickly responded with goals from Serhou Guirassy. A second goal from Torres in injury time eventually grabbed Barça's first ever win away to the Germans.
That win, coupled with the fact that Dortmund are not having the best of seasons, only eighth in the Bundesliga at the moment, might make the Liga leaders and Copa del Rey finalists the clear favourites for this one. But everyone knows that Dortmund are a side that tends to turn on the magic when they hear the Champions League anthem. Indeed, less than a year ago they were playing in the final of this every competition against Real Madrid.
Amazing form
We're now into the fourth month of the year, and Barça still haven't been beaten in 2025. Not once. In any competition. But they do go into this game on the back of a draw, 1-1 with Betis on Sunday, although those were the first dropped points after an extraordinary run of nine consecutive league victories, in which time they have also qualified for the final of the Copa del Rey. It's still too early to dream of the quadruple. Or isn't it?
Barça are also the highest scoring team in the UCL so far, and that's without even playing in the playoff round. And they also have the highest goalscorer in this edition, Raphinha with an impressive 11. That said, Dortmund are not so far behind both when it comes to scoring team goals and for having a lethal marksman, in their case Guinean international Guirassy who got ten of them.
Another man on whom many eyes will be fixed in Barça's fourth quarter final with a German club is Robert Lewandowski. The Pole was once the hero at Dortmund, but then left for Bayern Munich and is now at Barça. In 27 games against his former club, he has scored a remarkable 27 goals... although he has never scored against them in the Champions League. Not until now..
Team news
Marc-Andre ter Stegen and Marc Bernal were already out for the season, and now Marc Casado is too, and to make matters worse for Hansi Flick, Dani Olmo is out too, although Inigo Martinez is back after sitting out the game with Betis at the weekend.
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Austrian midfielder was the only main absentee from Dortmund's squad until the bombshell dropped this week that key defender Nico Schlotterbeck is out with what look likes a season-ending injury. Dortmund also have a new manager since the December meeting with Barça. Croatian Niko Kovac is now the man in charge, and there are also two new faces on loan, Chukwuemeka and Daniel Svensson, who have both settled in very quickly at the Ruhr-based club.
What they're saying
"Dortmund are a very stable team and they play very attacking football" said coach Hansi Flick on Tuesday. "But job now is to continue advancing in the competition. It hasn't been easy to get here and it has all been thanks to the very hard work that everyone has been doing." FULL STORY HERE
Gavi was the player chosen to speak to the press. "We are putting in a great season but we don't feel unbeatable. In football you can't always win," he said. "The team want to celebrate as many trophies as possible with the fans." FULL STORY HERE