BARCELONA - Barcelona thumped visitors Borussia Dortmund 4-0 in their Champions League quarterfinal first leg on Wednesday after Robert Lewandowski scored twice against his old club to earn the Catalans a sizeable lead ahead of next week's return visit to Germany.
Undefeated since late December, treble-chasing Barca predictably dominated the opening stages and grabbed the lead with Raphinha's strike in the 25th minute. A string of saves from Dortmund keeper Gregor Kobel frustrated Barca for the remainder of the first half.
Barcelona emerged more determined after the break and it took them only three minutes to score the second goal, with Raphinha assisting Lewandowski, who nodded home from close range.
The Polish striker extended their lead in the 66th minute from just inside the box while Lamine Yamal wrapped up another demolition job by Barcelona in the 77th.
"I think we played very well but we are not thinking about the semifinals yet, we must keep the same focus and mentality that have brought us here so far," Lewandowski told Movistar Plus.
"It doesn't matter where we play and what game it is, we always want to play our football with the same commitment.
"Our mindset is always going for the win and that is how we will play at Dortmund. We have to go there and play as well as we did today or even better."
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Barcelona have enjoyed a superb 23-game unbeaten run across all competitions. They are the only team in Europe's top five leagues yet to lose in 2025 and are still in the running to win three titles.
They lead LaLiga, four points ahead of Real Madrid whom they face in the Copa del Rey final on April 26.
Hansi Flick's Barca have now scored 36 goals in 11 games in the Champions League, and 145 in 48 competitive matches, thanks to their inspired attacking trident formed by Lewandowski, Yamal and Raphinha.
On Wednesday, Kobel denied Lewandowski and Yamal from close range but there was little he could do when Raphinha fired over the goal-line in the 26th minute.
After the break, Yamal made an impressive run from the right wing before lifting a cross towards the back post for Raphinha to head back across goal, leaving an unmarked Lewandowski to nod over the line from centimeters out.
Lewandowski extended their lead with a bullet strike while Yamal rounded off the beating with a tidy finish from a quick counter.
"It's a very tough defeat," Dortmund coach Niko Kovac told Movistar Plus.
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"We expected more but we have to be fair, Barca are a great team. Today they took advantage of all the gifts we gave them, they are really effective in attack."
