Barça’s Unbeaten Run Ends, but Semi-Final Spot Secured Despite Dortmund Scare
Barcelona’s 24-game unbeaten streak in 2025 came to a crashing halt with a 3-1 defeat to Borussia Dortmund at Signal Iduna Park, but the Blaugrana still advanced to the Champions League semi-finals on aggregate. Despite being completely outplayed and overwhelmed by Dortmund’s intensity, Barça clung to their first-leg advantage and reached the final four for the first time in six years.
Dortmund came out flying, pressing high and creating constant danger. Serhou Guirassy opened the scoring from the penalty spot after Wojciech Szczesny fouled Pascal Gross, and Barça struggled to cope with the pace and pressure, missing the calming presence of Pedri, who started on the bench.
Barça’s defense continued to creak after the break, with Guirassy adding a second from a corner to cut the aggregate lead in half. But a moment of fortune soon followed—Fermín López’s cross was deflected into the net by Ramy Bensebaini, easing the pressure. Pedri’s introduction helped calm the chaos, but another defensive error from Ronald Araujo gifted Guirassy a hat-trick and brought renewed tension.
Dortmund thought they had a fourth shortly after, but Julian Brandt’s strike was ruled out for offside. Barça were forced into some desperate defending late on but managed to hold on.
It was a rough night and a disappointing end to their unbeaten run, but in the end, Barça survived the storm and are back among Europe’s elite with a spot in the Champions League semi-finals.
