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And that’s all from me! Bye!
Meanwhile Sid Lowe was in Barcelona to watch the home side’s front three ooze through Borussia:
There is another game to be played but on this evidence, Barcelona will do so for just the fun of it, and there may be no one having as much fun as they are right now. A semi-final place is virtually secure with a second leg to spare after all three of their fantastic forward line scored en route to a 4-0 victory over Borussia Dortmund at Montjuic, the last of them scored by a kid who even at 17 may have a case to be considered the best player on the continent.
Robert Lewandowski, with two, and Raphinha got the others, taking Barcelona to 144 goals this season and almost certainly to the next round. They will take some stopping; Dortmund couldn’t do it, certainly. only momentarily did they even get close on a night that began and ended with Barcelona.
Much more here:
Ben Fisher was at the Parc des Princes to see Paris Saint-Germain come from behind to beat Aston Villa, and here’s his report:
Luis Enrique is regarded as the manager who finally transformed Paris Saint-Germain from a team of individuals into a team but that does not prevent players from expressing themselves. For Exhibit A, see Khvicha Kvaratskhelia’s preposterous strike that helped earn PSG a deserved advantage heading into the second leg of this quarter-final. Exhibit B was a beauty, too, Désiré Doué sending a rasping strike in off the woodwork after Morgan Rogers gave Villa a shock first-half lead. By the end it was 3-1, 29 shots to six and it was tempting to wonder quite how many full-backs Unai Emery would require to cage PSG’s ravenous front three.
Much more here:
Here’s a snipped from Hansi Flick on Barcelona’s front three:
They’re important but when you see our defence it’s also good, also the players who came from the bench, they’re on the same level. And at the moment this is very important because we have a lot of matches. It’s tough for the guys and I really appreciate what they are doing.
Barcelona looked very good, but the chances Borussia missed will give them just the merest glimmer of hope. If they’d taken a couple of them the tie would have a very different complexion, and who’s to say* that they won’t create and then convert a couple in the first half next week to set them on their way to an astonishing comeback?
* Everyone, yes, I know
Meanwhile a stoppage-time goal in Paris takes the score to PSG 3-1 Aston Villa, and that game is also now over.
90+4 mins: And that’ll do! Barcelona make a massive stride towards the semi-finals with a convincing victory over a Borussia Dortmund that made enough chances to have scored a couple of their own, but having failed to do so now look very close to doomed.
Borussia Dortmund players look dejected after their Champions League quarter-final first leg defeat at Barcelona. Photograph: Albert Gea/Reuters
90+3 mins: Barcelona should probably have had another there, but Fati missed an easy chance to play in Raphinha.
90+1 mins: There’ll be three minutes of stoppage time, or somesuch.
89 mins: Borussia have the ball in the net, but the flag goes up! The ball is played across the pitch to Duranville, whose centre runs to Beier, who sweeps in – but Duranville was offside!
88 mins: Chance for Borussia, but Ronald Araujo throws himself in the way! And another, but he does it again!
86 mins: Barcelona make their substitution.
85 mins: Yamal has been asking to be taken off for a few minutes, but it’s taken Ansu Fati a while to get himself ready to replace him, which he now is.
84 mins: From which they force Szczesny into a save, Sule improvising a cute volley that never looked like beating the keeper but at least made him do a bit of work.
83 mins: A lovely turn by Gio Reyna briefly opens up some space in Barcelona’s penalty area, but it’s closed again before he can shoot. Still, a corner.
80 mins: And a triple substitution for Barcelona, who take off Inigo Martinez, Lewandowski and Pedri and bring on Ferran Torres, Ronald Araujo and Eric Garcia.
79 mins: A double change from Borussia, who take off Ryerson and Gittens and bring on Julien Duranville and Niklas Sule.
Borussia lose the ball cheaply again, and they’re punished again! When Barcelona rob them just inside their own half, Lewandowski intercepting a pass intended for Anton, they’ve suddenly got three on one, and they’re too good to mess it up. Raphinha plays in Yamal, and his finish is low, hard and flies past Kobel before he can move.
Lamine Yamal fires home Barcas’s fourth. Photograph: Nacho Doce/Reuters
Lamine Yamal (left) celebrates with fellow goalscorer Raphinha after scoring Barcelona’s fourth. Photograph: Pedro Salado/Getty Images
75 mins: Lewandowski thinks he’s fouled when challenged by Can but the referee doesn’t give it. So he gets up and challenges Can – this time he doesn’t think there’s a foul but the referee thinks there is. Lewandowski is very grumpy about all of this, but I think the referee was right both times.
74 mins: And now Barcelona make their first substitution, bringing Gavi on for Fermin Lopez.
73 mins: Borussia win a free-kick on the right, send it straight into the arms of Szczesny, and Guirassy earns a yellow card for stopping him from starting a quick counter.
71 mins: Borussia win a corner, which is delayed for an age because players insist on bumping into each other and falling over.
68 mins: Borussia take off Chukwuemeka and Nmecha and bring on Giovanni Reyna and Salih Ozcan.
This is an excellent goal! A Borussia move breaks down on the edge of the Barca penalty area and the home side break. Fermin Lopez echanges passes with Yamal, the return playing him into all sorts of space on the right. He passes infield to Lewandowski, who slams a low, hard, first-time shot past Kobel!
Robert Lewandowski wheels away in celebration. Photograph: Ion Alcoba Beitia/Getty Images
Before celebrating with teammates after scoring his second, and Barcelona’s third. Photograph: Lluís Gené/AFP/Getty Images
65 mins: Another chance for Fermin Lopez! And another! Yamal crosses just too high for Lewandowski but it runs through to Lopez, whose shot hits Can and rebounds back to him, but this time he clears the bar.
63 mins: And they nearly get it! Kounde’s cross from the right is straight to Can but his clearance is rubbish, Pedri collects and passes to Fermin Lopez, and his low shot from just inside the area goes just wide.
60 mins: It is as if Borussia would now be happy to take a mere two-goal deficit back to Dortmund, and Barcelona are relatively content with a two-goal advantage, though they continue to rather gently seek a third.
57 mins: Barca keep the ball, pass it around, no hurry, no pressure.
54 mins: They’ve threatened a few times, but Borussia have looked a bit like Bundesliga also-rans for much of the evening. More than anything they just give the ball away too cheaply and too often, which against a side as comfortable in possession as this Barcelona is not a healthy habit.
52 mins: Meanwhile in Paris, Khvicha Kvaratskhelia has given PSG a 2-1 lead.
From barely a foot out, Robert Lewandowski doubles Barcelona’s lead! Yamal cuts inside from the right and chips a cross to Raphinha, beyond the far post, who heads back across for Lewandowski to nod in.
Robert Lewandowski uses his head to double his side’s lead. Photograph: Albert Gea/Reuters
Then celebrates. Photograph: Nacho Doce/Reuters
Lewandowski (right) is then patted on the head by teammate Jules Kounde. Photograph: Joan Monfort/AP
47 mins: Gittens, who seems to have started this half on the left, where Adeyemi spent the first, cuts inside and sends a low shot zipping just wide of the far post.
46 mins: Peeeeep! The second half is under way!
The players are back out! Well, most of them – Maximilian Beier has come on for Adeyemi, who was on a booking and had pushed his luck a couple of times.
45+2 mins: And that’s it! Barcelona have the lead at the break, but it’s been nothing like as one-sided as the first seven or eight minutes suggested it was going to be. The home side might be 10-5 up on shots and 5-1 ahead on shots on target, but that’s only because Guirassy, twice, when given a good scoring chance, completely missed the ball.
45+1 mins: Guirassy doesn’t miss this kick, turning past Inigo Martinez before lashing a left-footed shot into the side netting. Just the one minute of stoppage time is signalled.
45 mins: Another chance for Dortmund, Adeyemi crossing from the left and Guirassy once again completely missing the ball.
44 mins: Inevitably the Germans’ defence then opens up, but the move ends with Fermin Lopez sending in a weak shot from the edge of the area.
43 mins: Barcelona are passing the ball about. It’s all technically lovely, but Borussia have numbers in defence and appear vaguely in control.
41 mins: Szczesny also makes an easy save, from Gittens’ dribbly 20-yarder.
41 mins: Raphina has the ball on the edge of the area, and tries an audacious, high-stakes pass to Lewandowski. The ball does eventually fall to the Pole, who tries an overhead kick and presents Kobel with an easy save.
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