Barcelona's luck holds after Guirassy hat-trick gives Dortmund hope

In the end, it was comfortable enough for Barcelona, despite Serhou Guirassy's hat-trick. They weren't able to hold the ball in trademark fashion and command through possession, but they always had clear water. There were times, though, when they were distinctly uneasy and, but for an own goal that came at just the right time, this might have been a very awkward evening.

- Jonathan Wilson

It may ultimately have been a second leg negotiated without too much jeopardy, but it was a tie that raised doubts about them as potential champions. There is much to admire about Hansi Flick's Spanish league leaders, but theirs is a high-risk game and more precise opponents than Dortmund might have exposed them.

Barcelona's 4-0 win at home last week had in effect ended the tie and, given how Dortmund's season had gone, few at the club can have been too surprised. They lie eighth in the Bundesliga; the decision to replace Nuri Sahin as coach with Niko Kovac in February having yielded little obvious benefit. The result was that, at least in the buildup, the game had the feel of a mildly souped-up friendly. Certainly the atmosphere in the Alter Markt was markedly convivial. As blue and garnet mingled with yellow and black outside the various pizzerias and pubs on a humid spring afternoon, there was a sense of wandering through the idealized world of an advert.