By Olaitan Ibrahim
Barcelona put on a scintillating display at the Nou Camp on Wednesday night, crushing Borussia Dortmund 4-0 in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final match.
The Catalan giants were in total control throughout the game, with Robert Lewandowski scoring a brace to lead his side to a dominant victory.
The match kicked off with high intensity as Barcelona immediately put Dortmund under pressure. Just minutes into the game, 16-year-old prodigy Lamine Yamal tested Dortmund’s goalkeeper Gregor Kobel twice, first with a low drive that Kobel saved well and then with a powerful shot that narrowly missed the left post.
However, it didn’t take long for Barcelona to find the breakthrough. In the 25th minute, Pau Cubarsi picked out Raphinha with a precise pass inside the box, and the Brazilian made no mistake with a simple finish to give Barcelona a 1-0 lead.
The goal was briefly under review by VAR for a potential offside but was confirmed as legitimate after a tense wait. The Nou Camp erupted as the home side celebrated.
Dortmund had their chances, notably through Carney Chukwuemeka and Jamie Gittens, but their efforts were either brilliantly blocked or denied by Barcelona goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny, who was in excellent form.
Just before the break, Serhou Guirassy had an opportunity to equalize, but his shot went just wide of the target, leaving Dortmund frustrated.
The second half saw Barcelona continue their relentless assault. In the 48th minute, Lewandowski doubled Barcelona’s lead, heading home a precise cross from Raphinha to make it 2-0.
Dortmund tried to fight back, but their efforts were repeatedly thwarted by the solid Barcelona defence.
Fermin Lopez, who had been a key figure in the build-up play, was unlucky not to score himself. In the 63rd minute, his shot from the edge of the box crashed against the post, and moments later, he saw another effort blocked on the line.
But the third goal came soon after. In the 66th minute, Lopez played a pivotal role in setting up Lewandowski, who slotted the ball past Kobel with a clinical strike into the bottom right corner to make it 3-0.
Dortmund’s frustrations grew as they were unable to find a way through Barcelona’s defence, and their hopes were dashed further in the 77th minute.
Yamal, who had been a constant threat, finished off a brilliant counter-attack with a first-time shot from mid-range, making it 4-0 and all but sealing the win for Barcelona.
Dortmund’s final chance came in the 84th minute when Niklas Sule thought he had scored from a corner kick, but Szczesny produced a stunning save to deny him. In the final minutes, Giovanni Reyna had a chance to pull one back, but his shot was blocked, and Julian Brandt’s rebound also met the same fate.