There is still a bit of suspense, but Barcelona at Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain at Aston Villa are through to the semi-finals of the Champions League as expected after the first legs.
15.04.2025, 23:00
15.04.2025, 23:06
SDA
The stadium DJ in Birmingham apparently no longer believes in the turnaround and plays the Europa League anthem instead of the Champions League anthem before kick-off at Villa Park. At first, he seems to be right: after less than half an hour, the visitors from Paris lead 2:0, with the final score 5:1 for PSG. But he - and perhaps the Paris Saint-Germain players too - had not taken the famous British spirit into account.
If the 2-1 scoreline came almost out of the blue, the team currently seventh in the Premier League set off on a storming run after the break. Within two minutes, the Scottish showpiece and captain John McGinn and England international Ezri Konsa turned the tide after brilliant work from Marcus Rashford. Suddenly Aston Villa only needed one more goal to turn the tide.
Disappointment for Prince William
In front of the eyes of self-confessed Villa fan Prince William, the English side once again threw everything into the match and the young Parisians, who had been so convincing in recent weeks, were no longer so stylish. Thanks in part to goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma, however, they prevented a 4-2 defeat and extra time.
Both coaches Luis Enrique and Unai Emery have had experience of improbable turnarounds. It was in 2017 when PSG - with Emery on the sidelines - went down 6-1 to FC Barcelona, coached by Luis Enrique, after a 4-0 defeat. Emery would have loved to return the favor against his former club, but fell just short.
Prestige win not enough for Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund would need a real miracle after the 4-0 defeat in Barcelona, and in a difficult season the Germans at least showed morale. They got off to two excellent starts to the half and were immediately rewarded. In the 11th minute, Serhou Guirassy scored from the penalty spot, and in the 49th minute, the Guinean top scorer doubled his tally with a header from close range after a corner.
The 2:0 briefly flickered the flame of hope in Dortmund, but they immediately extinguished it themselves. In the 54th minute, Ramy Bensebaini's attempted clearance was thumped into the net by his own goalkeeper Gregor Kobel.
Guirassy made it three goals, but there was no real excitement after the 3:1 in the final quarter of an hour. In the end, BVB's first ever Champions League win against Barça - and the Catalans' first defeat in 2025 - was a result that they could get over. Barcelona are back in the semi-finals of the Champions League for the first time in six years.
In the semi-finals, Barcelona will face the winner of the duel between Inter Milan and Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal or Real Madrid. The first legs are scheduled for April 29 and 30.
