Barcelona Reach Champions League Semi-Finals After 3-1 Defeat to Dortmund

Barcelona have secured their place in the Champions League semi-finals, where they will take on either Inter Milan or Bayern Munich. The Spanish side progressed despite suffering a 3-1 loss to Borussia Dortmund in the quarter-final second leg.

Having won the first match 4-0 at home, Barcelona held a commanding aggregate lead coming into the return fixture in Germany. However, Dortmund made them work hard for qualification with an impressive performance.

Serhou Guirassy was the star for Dortmund, scoring a hat-trick to give the hosts hope of an unlikely comeback. The striker converted a penalty after 11 minutes before adding two more goals in the second half.

Barcelona’s crucial away goal came in fortunate circumstances, as Ramy Bensebaini deflected the ball into his own net. That strike effectively ended Dortmund’s chances of progression.

The final aggregate score of 5-3 sees Barcelona advance to the last four. They will host either Inter Milan or Bayern Munich in the first leg of the semi-final tie.

While not the commanding victory they may have hoped for, Barcelona did enough over two legs to keep their Champions League dreams alive. They will fancy their chances of reaching the final, regardless of whether Inter or Bayern await in the next round.