No response to the intense noise of Signal Iduna Park, but above all without a response against poor game against Borussia. It seemed that they did not even care that they had reached the semifinals of the Champions League after six years, something that was not achieved since Messi’s team succumbed in Anfield in 2019, after wasting the 3-0 in favor achieved at Camp Nou. Precisely the ghost of suffering from a comeback in Dortmund. “I feel disappointed,” Koundé lamented after the defeat (3-1). But Hansi Flick was not willing to accept the long faces of his players: “Boys, we have reached Semis. It’s time to celebrate.”
What seemed that it would be a mere procedure for Barça, after 4-0 in the first leg, became an exercise of anguish ,. “Many people believe that I don’t know how to play football, they have no fucking idea,” the Andalusian had presumed before the tie against Dortmund. Substitute in Barcelona, headline in Dortmund, Gavi’s vertigo showed Flick that he needed Pedri’s pause. “I needed to rest. It has been, but we have seen the quality that Pedri has and how important it is, both with the ball and without the ball,” said Flick.
From Jong with Gavi and Lewandowski with Lamine Yamal; While Raphinha asked calm. All under the explosive barulo of Signal Iduna Park, the stadium with the greatest capacity in Germany (81,365 people), one of the most hot in Europe, this Tuesday as always fervent to encourage Niko Kovac’s boys, but as never angry to whistle Robert Lewandowski. “A very good rival, the atmosphere was tremendous. It has not been our best day, this type of matches against teams such as Dortmund is not easy, but we have qualified, which was the goal,” Flick analyzed.
The problem, for the Barça, was that the vibration was not alone in the stands. Kovac recovered Gross for the core, key for Borussia to exercise his aggressive football; While Hansi Flick opted to give Pedri rest, fundamental for Barcelona to rest with the ball in an electric party. Pedri’s place was occupied by Gavi, although the German understands that the best position to exploit Gavi’s talent – that he presumes in the press room – is like “6 or 8 ″. He did not help Barcelona that the inspiration of Lamine Yamal walked on vacation, same frequency for Raphinha and Lewandowski.
“We have lacked everything we did well in the first leg: aggressiveness, pressure, concentration, win duels, close pass lines, a little of everything … we knew it was going to be difficult, because they play at home, but we have not up to v
The presence of Pedri, which replaced Gavi in the 60th minute, gave Barcelona more pause, but did not erase the suffering of the face, much less when Guirassy sealed his triplet. “We already saw this competition how it is very difficult and that is why we were not in the semifinals. At another time, this game escaped us, today we could endure,” concluded Araujo. Barça’s anguish had no prize, but the tie had it: return to the Champions League semifinals. And the costume broke the silence in Dortmund.
