Champions League: PSG come from behind to beat Aston Villa, Barcelona crush Dortmund
FC Barcelona have all but secured their place in the Champions League semi-finals after a commanding 4-0 victory over Borussia Dortmund in the first leg of their quarter-final clash. Meanwhile, Paris Saint-Germain earned a solid 3-1 win against Aston Villa.
FC Barcelona put on a dazzling show at their home ground, the Olympic Stadium, and could have easily widened the scoreline even further. The Catalan side’s attacking trio was behind all four goals.
The breakthrough came in the 25th minute, when top scorer Raphinha opened the scoring — officially netting his 12th Champions League goal of the season — although it was 18-year-old Pau Cubarsí’s effort that appeared destined for the back of the net.
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Dortmund’s nightmare, Lewandowski, strikes once more.
Naturally, Robert Lewandowski found the net again in the second half. Facing his former club for the 28th time, he took his goal tally against them to a remarkable 28 and 29. The Polish striker, who spent many years at Bayern Munich, has never scored more goals against any other team. The final blow came in the 77th minute from 17-year-old Lamine Yamal. The Spanish European champion finished off a swift counter-attack with precision, leaving goalkeeper Gregor Kobel with no chance .For much of the match, the visitors from the Ruhr region were overwhelmed and focused solely on defending. Last season’s finalists enjoyed their brightest spell just before the break, when top scorer Serhou Guirassy had three golden opportunities but failed to convert any of them.
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PSG stage a comeback
Paris Saint-Germain lived up to their billing as favourites in their home clash against Aston Villa and will head to Birmingham on Tuesday with a two-goal advantage. However, the newly crowned French champions experienced a familiar setback in the first half. Just as in the first leg of their Round of 16 tie against Liverpool, PSG fell behind despite dominating play. This time, it was Morgan Rogers who struck for the visitors on a swift counter-attack.
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But unlike their match against the Premier League leaders, Luis Enrique’s side mounted a strong response. Rising star Désiré Doué leveled the score in the 39th minute with a stunning strike before Georgian winger Khvicha Kvaratskhelia put them ahead just after the break in the 49th. Nuno Mendes added a third deep into stoppage time, putting PSG firmly on course for a second consecutive appearance in the Champions League semi-finals.
