BARCELONA– A blistering Barcelona facet blew Borussia Dortmund away on the Olympic Stadium on Wednesday to switch to the verge of an preliminary UEFA Champions League semifinal provided that 2019. They did so with targets from every of their horrible entrance 3: Raphinha opened up the racking up, Robert Lewandowski netted two occasions, and Lamine Yamal completed the 4-0 win late on.
There continues to be the 2nd leg forward in Dortmund following week, but it’s tough to see Bar ça not establishing up a final 4 convention versus both Bayern Munich orInternazionale This is a Bar ça facet that performs as a gaggle, strives for each numerous different and, most importantly, has a strike that regularly enjoyment of targets.
It is amongst issues practice Hansi Flick claims he likes most round this group. They by no means ever positioned the handbrake on.
“It’s not finished at 2-0 or 3-0,” Flick acknowledged again in January, in the beginning of Bar ça’s unbeaten run which at present extends to 23 video video games in all rivals. “They go to the end of the match. This is what I love and what we like to play.”
That will definitely be the ideas in Germany following week.
“I think we played very well, but we have one more game to go,” Lewandowski knowledgeable press reporters after the online game. “We at all times need to play our sport and we need to go there and win. That’s at all times the target.
“If you have a 4-0 lead at half-time [in the tie], in the 2nd fifty percent in Dortmund you should play the exact same. Or also much better. This is the Champions League and we constantly wish to go to our finest.”
Lewandowski is an effective place to begin. His brace took him to 40 targets for the season, and 99 for Barça, on the grand previous age of 36. He has typically been neglected with Raphinha and Yamal dazzling both facet of him and Pedri pulling strings in midfield, however he’s at all times ever-present towards Dortmund.
His former facet have to be sick of the sight of him. He headed in Barça’s second right here and added the third with a low end after good work from Yamal and Fermín López. Both targets had been accompanied with rabid celebrations regardless of having spent 4 years taking part in for Dortmund earlier than his 2014 transfer to Bayern Munich. He has gone on to attain an astonishing 29 occasions in 28 video games towards them since.
Raphinha, in the meantime, is having a Champions League season for the ages. He leads the competitors with 12 targets — adopted by Lewandowski’s 11 — and has tallied 19 purpose contributions in complete. That’s essentially the most ever for a Brazilian and degree with Lionel Messi‘s finest European marketing campaign for the Catalan membership. His first towards Dortmund was his best but — but additionally created a nerve-wracking wait as VAR checked for an offside. Pau Cubarsí‘s contact was heading in when the Brazilian slid in to ensure, with the revision ultimately confirming he was simply onside.
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Moreno: Dortmund by no means stood an opportunity towards Barcelona
Ale Moreno says it’s no shock to see Borussia Dortmund handed a heavy defeat by Barcelona.
” I used to be fretted on the very first goal if I used to be offside, it’s glorious that it was offered,” Raphinha informed reporters. ” I apologised to Cubars í. He knowledgeable me no issues, he would definitely rely it as an support. I assumed the sphere was going massive, it was an instinctive selection.”
The numbers are on a par with a few of the finest assaults to have graced the Champions League within the twenty first century. Raphinha and Lewandowski are the primary teammates to attain 10+ targets within the competitors in a single season since Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino and Sadio Mané managed the feat for Liverpool in 2017-18. The final Barça pair to each rating double figures had been Messi in Neymar in 2014-15, the final time the Blaugrana gained the competitors.
And after that there’s Yamal, that got here to be the very first gamer to ever earlier than rack up quite a few targets within the Champions League knockout rounds prior to remodeling 18. He had harm Dortmund from the start. An awesome Gregor Kobel save maintained him out within the fifth min, he after that crinkled over previous to establishing Raphinha, that fired proper into the facet netting.
The teen’s go to López within the accumulation to Lewandowski’s 2nd goal was very good, as effectively, and he topped his night together with his 14th goal of the interval, coping with the advocates to a dancing with left-back Alejandro Balde to salute another four-goal proving from Bar ça.
That’s the twenty first time this era Flick’s facet have really netted 4 or much more targets in a online game. They have really performed 48 fits. They have really racked up 36 targets in 11 Champions League video video games, roughly over 3 per go well with. That’s 7 larger than any sort of numerous different group– and so they have really dipped into the very least 2 much less video video games than many.
It’s on the numerous different finish the place teams will definitely need to do them hurt if their unbeaten run is to complete. Dortmund demonstrator Serhou Guirassy missed out on a hat methodology of alternatives on the finish of the very first fifty %. If amongst them had really gone it, it may need been a numerous online game.
The web site guests moreover had alternatives late on. Wojciech Szcz ęsny conserved from United States international Giovanni Reyna and there was a late goal dismissed for offside, but there was to be no late alleviation for Niko Kova č’s facet to reclaim toGermany Other challengers may not be so inefficient, but sustaining Bar ça out is another level.
Wednesday’s goal-fest, additionally if the trouble continues to be to be accomplished, will definitely do little to subdue broach a treble. Bar ça are at present proper into the Copa del Rey final on April 26, the place they’ll definitely encounter Real Madrid, whereas they moreover lead LaLiga by 4 elements with 8 video video games to go. And at present have one foot in a Champions League semifinal.
“If you are saying that another team is going to win, I don’t know why you go out on to the pitch to play, so we can win the treble,” Yamal knowledgeable ESPN at the moment. “We are Barça. We have already achieved it [in 2009 and 2015] — hopefully we can do it again.”
