Barcelona set sights on Champions League progress with 4-0 residence win in quarterfinal first leg towards Borussia Dortmund.
Barcelona claimed a commanding 4-0 residence win over Borussia Dortmund within the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals.
Robert Lewandowski scored twice and Raphinha recorded a objective and an help on Wednesday, leaving the Catalan membership in a powerful place to achieve the semifinals for the primary time since 2019.
Lamine Yamal additionally scored as Barcelona dealt a hammer blow to the German facet’s hopes of advancing.
The return match is subsequent Tuesday at Dortmund, who had been final yr’s runners-up within the closing towards Barcelona’s fierce rivals, Actual Madrid.
“We performed very properly, however we will’t be excited about the semifinals but,” Lewandowski stated. “We scored 4 targets at residence, however we nonetheless have the return leg to play.”
Raphinha added to his Champions League-leading tally by poking the ball into the open web within the twenty fifth minute for his twelfth objective within the competitors this season. He then helped arrange Lewandowski’s first objective of the night time within the forty eighth.
Lewandowski scored his eleventh Champions League objective with a one-timer within the 66th earlier than Yamal closed the scoring within the 77th.
The 36-year-old Lewandowski has scored 14 Champions League targets after the age of 35, two greater than Cristiano Ronaldo.
Lewandowski had scored 17 of his 105 profession targets within the Champions League for Dortmund over three seasons, from 2011-14.
The Polish striker, who can also be the Spanish league’s main scorer this season with 25 targets, has 40 targets this season.
“In my head, I at all times wish to be serving to the staff with my high quality and my targets,” Lewandowski stated. “A striker at all times must be excited about scoring targets, and when the staff performs properly, it turns into simpler for me.”
Raphinha has scored in every of Barcelona’s final 4 Champions League knockout stage matches, with seven targets in that span.
He entered the match with 11 targets, yet another than Dortmund’s Serhou Guirassy and Bayern Munich’s Harry Kane.
Additionally Wednesday within the quarterfinals, a surprise objective from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia upstaged an excellent curling shot from teammate Want Doue as Paris Saint-Germain beat Aston Villa 3-1.
