Champions League: Barcelona Reach Semis Despite Guirassy Hat-Trick Heroics

Serhou Guirassy illuminated the Westfalenstadion with a breathtaking hat-trick during Wednesday evening, but Borussia Dortmund's courageous attempt was in vain as Barcelona advanced to the semifinals of the UEFA Champions League on aggregate.

Though a rousing 3-1 second-leg win in the quarterfinal encounter, Dortmund's humiliating 4-0 loss in the first leg was too high a mountain to overcome, leading to a 5-3 aggregate defeat.

The German team started the evening with obvious purpose, looking to stage an unlikely comeback. Their early pressure was rewarded when Guirassy calmly scored a Panenka-style penalty in the 11th minute after Pascal Gross was taken down by Barca goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny. The strike was Guirassy's 11th of the tournament—breaking a new single-season club record in the Champions League.

Dortmund kept the pressure on in the first half, with Guirassy and Gross both narrowly missing doubling the advantage. Their physicality and high press unsettled Barcelona, but opportunities were still scarce as the visitors damped the pace of the game with possession-based football.

The drama grew in intensity after the interval. Only four minutes into the second half, Guirassy scored his second with a perfectly timed header from a matter of inches out, bringing belief to the home fans. But Dortmund's momentum was arrested suddenly in the 54th minute when Ramy Bensebaini inadvertently deflected a low cross into his own goal, handing Barcelona a crucial away goal.

However, Dortmund would not give up. Substitute Julien Duranville added some life, assisting on Guirassy's third goal of the evening in the 70th minute to bring the game to 3-1 and restore hope to the home crowd.

Julian Brandt believed he'd made a fourth soon after, but the strike was disallowed. Dortmund kept sending forward in a bid for the two goals that would make the tie level, but time escaped their energetic comeback.

"We believed since the first minute and you saw that today," stated defender Niklas Sule after the final whistle. "I'm incredibly proud of the team."

Barcelona boss Hansi Flick praised Dortmund's performance and the way they constructed the game.
"Full credit to Dortmund, they played very well. Great team, and to be honest, I thought we could lose tonight. The atmosphere here is great, the fans truly support the team. Nothing went our way today. So, congratulations to Dortmund on the win, but also to my team, we qualified for the semifinals, and that's what matters," he added.

While Dortmund are now focusing on their home campaign again, Barcelona continue to advance in their bid for European honors, securing a spot in the competition's final four.