Barcelona are through to the UEFA Champions League semi-finals with a 5-3 aggregate win, despite losing 3-1 at Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday with Serhou Guirassy hitting a hat-trick, while Paris Saint-Germain survived a second-half onslaught to beat Aston Villa 5-4 on aggregate and reach the semi-finals, despite a 3-2 defeat.
Holding a 4-0 lead after a dominant performance in Catalonia, Barcelona were made to sweat as Dortmund and Guirassy nearly pulled off a stunning turnaround. Guirassy put Dortmund in front with a Panenka from the spot with 11 minutes gone and headed them two goals clear early in the second half.
Dortmund sensed a sensation, but Barcelona hit back, with Fermin Lopez forcing Ramy Bensebaini into an own-goal with just more than half an hour remaining. Guirassy reignited Dortmund’s belief with a third on the 76th-minute mark and the final stages might have been different had Julian Brandt not been offside before scoring with 11 minutes remaining.
Photo: AFP
Despite losing their first competitive game this year, Barcelona are through to the semis, keeping their dream of a remarkable treble alive, 10 years after last completing the feat by winning the Champions League in Berlin.
Barcelona coach Hansi Flick praised Dortmund’s performance, adding that his side “need to focus on the positive, not the negatives.”
“What the team has shown in the past few weeks is incredible. We’ve got a lot ahead of us this season. We’re a step further, but we’re not even close to the end,” the German said.
Lopez said the experience would make the Catalans stronger.
“Dortmund have a really good team, you saw that today. Last week we made them suffer at our place. Today we suffered here, but in the end we were able to limit the damage,” the 21-year-old said. “We’re now in the semi-finals and can draw a lot of strength from this game today because it was a big task.”
Barcelona, considered title favorites, are to face either Inter or Bayern Munich in the final four.
In Birmingham, French champions Paris Saint-Germain were cruising toward the last four when fullbacks Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes struck in the first 27 minutes to add to their 3-1 first-leg lead.
Youri Tielemans pulled a goal back for the English side before halftime and two goals in two minutes from John McGinn and Ezri Konsa transformed the tie early in the second period.
PSG were thankful to goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma for keeping Unai Emery’s men at bay and preventing another famous collapse in the Champions League knockout stages.
“At the end, we got them suffering like we did,” Emery said. “To get this level is the next step forward that I want to try to build with Aston Villa.”
The match started on the wrong note, when the Europa League anthem blared out around Villa Park instead of the iconic Champions League song, leaving Aston Villa and PSG players looking quizzically at each other.
With Prince William watching on, Konsa made a facepalm gesture as he and Tielemans tried to contain their laughter, while PSG’s Fabian Ruiz and Ousmane Dembele exchanged puzzled glances.
Additional reporting by Reuters
A stunning Lamine Yamal strike on Thursday helped crown Barcelona La Liga champions with a 2-0 win over local rivals RCD Espanyol, with victory ensuring Real Madrid cannot catch them at the top of the table. Yamal’s effort and Fermin Lopez’s goal took Hansi Flick’s side seven points clear of Los Blancos with two matches remaining, to clinch Barcelona’s 28th title and complete a superb domestic treble. Only the UEFA Champions League title escaped an exciting young Barca side this season, as they won the league for the second time in six years, at Espanyol’s ground again just as in 2022-2023. Back then,
SSC Napoli will have to wait one more week to seal the Serie A title after on Sunday being held to a goalless draw at Parma, while closest rivals Inter drew 2-2 in a dramatic game with SS Lazio. Antonio Conte’s team stayed one point ahead of Inter and were unfortunate not to win after twice striking the woodwork through Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa and Matteo Politano, while Scott McTominay also had a free-kick tipped onto the crossbar. The away side thought they would be handed a chance to take the points from the penalty spot in the 96th minute when David Neres
Jannik Sinner on Thursday marched into the semi-finals of the Italian Open after destroying Casper Ruud in straight sets 6-0, 6-1, while Coco Gauff won a marathon three-set battle with China’s Zheng Qinwen to advance to the women’s singles final. American Gauff is to face Italy’s Jasmine Paolini in today’s title match after pulling through 7-6 (7/3), 4-6, 7-6 (7/4) in a match that lasted over three-and-a-half hours. Ruud was supposed to be Sinner’s toughest test in Rome since he came back from his three-month doping ban, as the Norwegian came into the match in hot form on clay after winning in
Shohei Ohtani on Thursday delivered his first two-homer game of the season and had six RBIs as the Los Angeles Dodgers poured it on with five long balls in a 19-2 victory over the visiting Athletics. Max Muncy, Andy Pages and James Outman also hit home runs for the Dodgers, who left no doubt by taking a 13-2 lead following a seven-run third inning. Muncy and Kim Hye-seong each had three hits for Los Angeles. Dodgers right-hander Matt Sauer led off a bullpen game by allowing two runs in four innings. Left-hander Justin Wrobleski (1-1) finished with four scoreless innings after he
RSS