Barcelona Hammer Dortmund 4-0 in Champions League Quarterfinal First Leg at Montjuïc
Barcelona put on a dominating performance against Borussia Dortmund at Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys, taking a giant step towards the semis of the Champions League with a comprehensive 4-0 victory.
The hosts were in control from the beginning, but they had to wait until the stalemate was eventually broken.
Raphinha capitalized on a swift Pau Cubarsí flick to open the scoring before Robert Lewandowski doubled the advantage shortly after halftime.
The Polish forward sealed the game with a second that was beyond reach, teenage prodigy Lamine Yamal completing the thrashing with a composed finish late on.
Here are the Barcelona players’ rating against Borussia Dortmund
Wojciech Szczesny (7.5)
The Barcelona shot-stopper had little to do for the majority of the night, making only routine saves until a late crucial block to keep his team’s slim hopes alive.
Alejandro Balde (7.5)
Driven out wide across the pitch with a minimal defensive workload, the fullback performed well with Raphinha but struggled against Dortmund’s physically dominant fullbacks.
Iñigo Martínez (8.8)
A rock at the back, the Spaniard marshaled Dortmund’s forwards with precision and was instrumental in the opener with a perfectly timed knockdown header.
Pau Cubarsí (8.9)
The teenage star was also impressive, going close to scoring the opener himself before delivering another mature defensive display, aside from a couple of wayward clearances.
Jules Koundé (8.8)
Brimming with energy on the right flank, the Frenchman pressed constantly and timed his forward runs to perfection and muzzled Dortmund’s wingers.
Pedri (9)
The midfield maestro controlled Barcelona’s supremacy in silence, controlling the tempo and possession with his customary intelligence and precision.
Frenkie de Jong (9)
An inspirational force in midfield, the Dutch international controlled things in defense and engineered some menacing transitions.
Fermín López (8)
The academy product haunted Dortmund with his speed between the lines, setting up Lewandowski’s second and coming close to scoring himself.
Lamine Yamal (9.2)
Barcelona’s talismanic creative spark, the wunderkind, haunted Dortmund’s defense throughout the night with his vision and mastery of the ball, providing two assists before finishing his display with a well-taken goal.
Raphinha (9.5) Though wasteful at first, the Brazilian came to life in the match, scoring the game-winning opener and then going on to deliver two more with impeccable passes.
Robert Lewandowski (9.3)
After a low-key first half, the seasoned striker sprang to life in the second half with two ruthless finishes and helped to create the fourth goal, showing his enduring class. The clean sweep leaves Barcelona in control of the tie ahead of next week’s return match in Germany.
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