Barca in semis despite 3-1 loss at Dortmund

Five-time European champions Barcelona reached their first Champions League semi-final in six seasons with a 5-3 aggregate victory despite being beaten 3-1 by Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday.

Serhou Guirassy scored a hat-trick for Dortmund to condemn Barca to their first defeat across all competitions this year but it could not prevent the Catalans from reaching the last four.

Barcelona will play either Inter Milan or Bayern Munich, who face each other on Wednesday, in the last four.

Dortmund, who drew 2-2 against Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga on Saturday, had two golden chances in the opening minutes before Guirassy’s chipped penalty in the 11th minute gave them a deserved lead.

The Spaniards, unbeaten in 2025 going into the game, gradually fought their way back and could have levelled were it not for some sloppy finishing from Jules Kounde in the 40th.

After the break, however, Dortmund were again the stronger side at the start and Guirassy headed in after Ramy Bensebaini’s nod from a corner four minutes after the restart to ignite hopes of a potential record-matching comeback.

Dortmund’s attempt to match Barcelona’s Champions League record of overturning a four-goal first-leg deficit in a knockout stage was derailed by Bensebaini’s 54th-minute own goal that settled Spanish nerves.

Robert Lewandowski had put Bensebaini under pressure as he chased a cutback from Fermin Lopez, and the Dortmund player stabbed the ball into his own net.