Barcelona beat Borussia Dortmund 3-2 in a chaotic game at the Westfalenstadion on Wednesday night.
Raphinha put Hansi Flick’s side ahead in the 52nd minute with a nerveless finish, before Serhou Guirassy equalised from the penalty spot in the 60th minute after a push from Pau Cubarsi.
There was then a frantic end to the game as substitute Ferran Torres put Barca 2-1 up in the 75th minute, Guirassy broke Barca’s offside trap to draw the sides level and then Torres struck again in the 85th minute to earn a hard-fought win for the Catalans.
Here, our writers analyse a madcap night of Champions League football.
How did Reyna perform on his first start of the season?
Plenty of Dortmund fans will tell you that they never expected to see Giovanni Reyna start for their club again. Reyna spent half of last season on loan at Nottingham Forest and, until Wednesday night, had played just 62 minutes of domestic football all season.
The last time he started for Dortmund was almost exactly a year ago against Hoffenheim. The last time he started a club game of any kind was against Everton on April 21st, during that Forest loan. Away from the pitch, the saga around his USMNT future and relationship with former coach Gregg Berhalter has caused its own drag on his career.
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But Reyna made a strong impression on his return, playing as the centre point in attacking midfield, between Jamie Gittens and Julien Duranville. He lasted 73 minutes but coped well with the speed of Barcelona’s ball circulation.
(Sebastian Widmann – UEFA/UEFA via Getty Images)
At times, the pace of the game told on him — as it did on every Dortmund player — but he dug in without the ball, and was used to disrupt the passing channel between Marc Casado and Dani Olmo. His defensive work was good. He scrapped and competed in his own half and, inside the first 30 minutes, a high turnover he forced might have dropped more fortuitously for Guirassy.
Reyna was compelling in possession, too. He sprung a flowing Dortmund attack with a smart diagonal out to Ramsy Bensebaini on the left. And, just before half-time, he dug out a fine cross to the back-post which Guirassy really should have scored from — even if he appeared to be offside.
Sebastian Stafford-Bloor
How did Raphinha’s roaming role help Barca?
Watching Raphinha is a whole experience in itself this season.
The 27-year-old is having a campaign to remember, scoring the opener against Dortmund to make it six goals in six Champions League games — and 17 goals in all competitions. Even when he does not find the back of the net, the freedom with which he plays is a joy to watch and Wednesday evening was no different.
Starting nominally on the left wing, Raphinha roamed about the pitch as he pleased. Drifting into central areas between the lines? Sure. Leading the line after rotating with Robert Lewandowski? Of course. Dropping in to get involved in the build-up alongside Barcelona’s midfield? You bet. Yes, he also shows off his typical dancing feet when hugging the left touchline, but it would be too easy to stay there without putting on a show.
Raphinha does not even need to touch the ball to influence game. Here, his relentless energy often saw him make those penetrating runs in behind Dortmund’s defensive line — as he has done all season. If he did not receive the ball, he was still stretching Dortmund’s structure to leave space for Lewandowski and Dani Olmo to occupy the spaces in the pockets.
When he did receive the ball, his pace saw him burst into space from Olmo’s pass before finishing coolly with a driven finish into the bottom corner at the start of the second half.
Many were doubting how Raphinha would find a place in the Barcelona side after the prodigious Lamine Yamal took his spot on the right wing. It is fair to say those doubts continue to be answered this season, with the Brazil winger popping up all over the attacking line.
Mark Carey
Yamal still Barca’s main man
Raphinha may have scored the opener and Torres two late goals, but when Barcelona need things to happen, Yamal is clearly their go-to man.
The 17-year-old was the Catalans’ biggest threat during the first half. Two of his deliveries from the right-hand side almost ended in goals for Raphinha — one of them a result of his trademark ‘trivela’ pass with the outside of his boot.
Yamal also tested Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel more than anyone in a Barca shirt in that first period, with two shots on target the Pole saved.
It was also Yamal’s leadership that stood out. He could be seen giving orders to his team-mates while in possession, asking for greater calm on the ball or urging full-back Jules Kounde to move to open up Dortmund’s defence.
His growing impact in Barcelona’s set-up has been well-documented this season. Barca remain winless in every game Yamal has not started in La Liga this season (three defeats and one draw). Raphinha could have squared for him to turn into an empty net in the build-up to his goal — thankfully for the Brazilian, he slotted home.
Yamal was quieter in the second half, when Barca looked more towards Dani Olmo and Raphinha in attack. But Hansi Flick decided to keep the teenager on the pitch – and it paid off. He played a key role in the build-up to Torres’ goal, starting the move down the right-hand side that led to the Spaniard’s opportunistic finish. Then he provided the final pass for Torres to score his late winner on the counter-attack.
Pol Ballus
(Ulrik Pedersen/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Duranville shows his promise
What an occasion for 18-year-old Julien Duranville. He joined Borussia Dortmund from Anderlecht in 2023, but has suffered from a succession of thigh injuries since then. Nearly two years later and despite a vast reputation, this was his first start for Dortmund — in the Champions League or any other competition.
Depending on personality, the prospect of facing Barcelona in front of 80,000 at the Westfalenstadion would either terrify an 18-year-old player or thrill them. It was safe to say it was the latter for Duranville. He was not always perfect, but he played with encouraging freedom and a clear determination to express himself. Any time he had the chance, he ran at Barca left-back Alejandro Balde.
Duranville was fun and positive, rather than destructive or outstanding, but it is clear to see why he is among the most highly rated players of his generation. He has also already been capped by Belgium, making his first international appearance before his first Dortmund start.
But Dortmund fans have seen him in cameos and it ha been enough to pique their interest. It is not just that he is quick or skillful, but he possesses an unusual dribbling style — with a low centre of gravity that allows him to pivot quickly from side to side, squaring up to defenders and keeping him off-balance.
Forgive any fans who lapsed into a daydream, imagining what it might be like to him on the right side of their attack and Jamie Gittens on the left for the long term. There are a lot of ifs and maybes about that — form, fitness, development — but it is fun to think about.
Sebastian Stafford-Bloor
Guirassy’s night of contrasts
Guirassy will never have a stranger night in the Champions League. One penalty won and converted, another goal scored, but a host of good chances missed. At his best, he is a gloriously fluid footballer, capable of affecting attacks in all sorts of ways.
Wednesday was not one of those nights, though. Guirassy’s link play and first touch were askew all evening and there seemed an awkwardness about his technique.
And his finishing was off, too. A few minutes before he equalised to make it 2-2, he sent a header over the bar when the entire Westfalenstadion expected him to score.
Such is Guirassy’s normal standard. But he missed equally presentable chances in the first half, the most glaring just before half-time, and that was ultimately the difference between the sides.
Barca probably deserved their win. It could — possibly should — have been different. Guirassy was hardly to blame for the defeat. His toil up front was a big part of Dortmund’s resistance. But given the standards he has set for himself over the past 18 months, it will still be a disappointment.
Sebastian Stafford-Bloor
Barca’s high line
Barcelona’s high defensive line is well-established under Flick this season.
It certainly has its benefits, the most obvious of which is that it allows them to squeeze higher up the field and condense the space to give the opposition less time to play through their defensive structure.
Each of the four defenders were constantly on their toes when Dortmund had the ball, ready to make that step forward to catch any opposition runner offside. With margins so tight, Barca’s timing needed to be perfect every time in stepping up at the crucial moment.
Of course, this approach does not come without its risks, and Dortmund exposed it for Guirassy’s second goal. How? Runners from deeper areas.
Stepping up to catch a striker or winger offside is one thing, but an attacking midfielder driving forward from his own half is often more difficult to track. Dortmund’s Pascal Gross was the one to break Barcelona’s line as he ran through to play a simple pass for Guirassy to roll the ball into an empty net.
Barca have certainly had more success than failures in their brave defensive line this season — and this was another great victory this campaign — but tonight’s showing highlights that there are methods for opponents to unlock it.
Mark Carey
What did Hansi Flick say?
We will bring you this after he has spoken at the post-match press conference.
What next for Barcelona?
Sunday, December 15: Leganes (H), La Liga, 8pm GMT, 3pm ET
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(Top photo by ANP via Getty Images)
