Barcelona’s Rise: A Historic UCL Campaign In The Making

‎A dominant Barcelona team overwhelmed Borussia Dortmund at the Olympic Stadium on Wednesday, edging closer to their first UEFA Champions League semifinal appearance since 2019.

‎The victory featured goals from all three members of their potent front line: Raphinha scored the opener, Robert Lewandowski added two more, and Lamine Yamal capped off the 4-0 triumph with a late goal.

‎There is still the second leg to come in Dortmund next week, but it’s hard to see Barça not setting up a final-four meeting against either Bayern Munich or Internazionale.

‎Why Barca Scores a Lot

‎This Barcelona team plays cohesively, supports each other, and, most importantly, boasts an attack that consistently capitalizes on scoring opportunities.

‎One aspect that coach Hansi Flick admires most about this squad is their relentless drive; they never hold back.

‎”It’s not finished at 2-0 or 3-0,” Flick said back in January, at the start of Barça’s unbeaten run which now stretches to 23 games in all competitions.

‎”They go to the end of the match. This is what I love and what we like to play.”

‎That will be the ethos in Germany next week.

‎”I think we played very well, but we have one more game to go,” Lewandowski told reporters after the game.

‎”We always want to play our game and we want to go there and win. That’s always the objective.

‎”If you have a 4-0 lead at half-time [in the tie], in the second half in Dortmund you must play the same. Or even better. This is the Champions League and we always want to be at our best.”

‎Lewandowski Fine Wine

‎Lewandowski is a key player, and his brace against Borussia Dortmund took his season total to 40 goals and his overall tally for Barcelona to 99 at the impressive age of 36.

‎While Raphinha and Yamal often steal the spotlight, along with Pedri’s creative play in midfield, Lewandowski remains a crucial presence.

‎He consistently delivers in high-stakes matches, proving his worth time and again.

‎His former side must be sick of the sight of him. He headed in Barça’s second here and added the third with a low finish after good work from Yamal and Fermín López.

‎Both goals were met with fervent celebrations, even though Lewandowski had spent four years at Dortmund before moving to Bayern Munich in 2014.

‎He has gone on to score an astonishing 29 times in 28 games against them since.

‎Raphinha is enjoying a remarkable Champions League season, leading the competition with 12 goals, while Lewandowski closely follows with 11. In total, he has contributed to 19 goals, the highest ever for a Brazilian player and matching Lionel Messi’s best European campaign for Barcelona.

‎His first against Dortmund was his easiest yet, but it also created a nerve-wracking wait as VAR checked for an offside. Pau Cubarsí’s touch was heading in when the Brazilian slid in to make sure, with the revision eventually confirming he was just onside.

‎”I was worried on the first goal if I was offside, it’s good that it was given,” Raphinha told reporters.

‎”I apologized to Cubarsí. He told me no worries, he’d count it as an assist. I thought the ball was going wide, it was an instinctive decision.”

‎These numbers rival those of the best attacks in Champions League history during the 21st century. Raphinha and Lewandowski have become the first set of teammates to each score over 10 goals in a single season since Mohamed Salah, Roberto Firmino, and Sadio Mané did so for Liverpool in 2017-18.

‎The last Barça pair to both score double figures was Messi in Neymar in 2014-15, the last time the Blaugrana won the competition.

‎And then there is Yamal, who became the first player to ever score multiple goals in the Champions League knockout rounds before turning 18. He had tortured Dortmund from the start.

‎Gregor Kobel made a brilliant save to deny him in the fifth minute, and shortly after, he curled a shot over the bar before assisting Raphinha, whose attempt found the side netting.

‎The teenager’s exquisite pass to López during the buildup to Lewandowski’s second goal was equally impressive.

‎He concluded his night by scoring his 14th goal of the season and celebrated with left-back Alejandro Balde, entertaining the supporters after another four-goal performance by Barcelona.

‎That’s the 21st time this season Flick’s side has netted four or more goals in a game. They have played 48 matches.

‎They have scored 36 goals in 11 Champions League games, an average of over three per match. That’s seven more than any other team and they’ve played at least two fewer games than most.

‎Barcelona Vs Borussia Dortmund

‎It’s at the other end where teams will look to do them damage if their unbeaten run is to end. Dortmund striker Serhou Guirassy missed a hat trick of chances at the end of the first half. If one of them had gone it, it could have been a different game.

‎The visitors had chances late in the game, with Wojciech Szczęsny making a save against U.S. international Giovanni Reyna, and a late goal was disallowed for offside.

‎However, Niko Kovač’s team wasn’t able to secure any consolation goal to bring back to Germany.

‎While other opponents may take advantage of their opportunities, thwarting Barcelona’s attack is an entirely different challenge.

‎Wednesday’s goal-fest, even if the hard work is still to be done, will do little to quell talk of a treble. Barça are already into the Copa del Rey final on April 26, where they will face Real Madrid.

‎They also lead La Liga by four points with eight games to go. And now 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 onto the pitch to play, so we can win the treble,” Yamal told ESPN this week.

‎”We are Barça. We have already achieved it [in 2009 and 2015]; hopefully, we can do it again.”