UCL: Barca, PSG advance to semifinals despite second leg losses

Paris Saint-Germain and Barcelona have booked their spots in the UEFA Champions League semifinals despite both teams suffering defeats in the second legs of their respective quarter-final ties on Tuesday.

For Barcelona, it marks their first return to the Champions League semi-finals since the 2018/19 season.

They advanced with a 5–3 aggregate win over Borussia Dortmund, who won the second leg 3–1 at Signal Iduna Park.

Barcelona came into the match with a solid lead but had to survive a strong fightback from the German side.

Dortmund made an early statement when Wojciech Szczesny fouled Pascal Gross in the box, allowing Serhou Guirassy to calmly convert from the spot with a Panenka penalty in the 11th minute.

Just after halftime, Guirassy struck again, this time heading in from close range after a corner, reducing the aggregate deficit to two goals.

Dortmund’s momentum, however, was cut short minutes later when Barcelona responded.

Fermin Lopez whipped in a dangerous cross from the right, and defender Ramy Bensebaini accidentally turned the ball into his own net.

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Dortmund pushed again and found a third goal in the 75th minute. Ronald Araujo’s poor clearance fell kindly to Guirassy inside the six-yard box, and the forward completed his hat-trick with a clinical finish.

The goal made him the Champions League’s top scorer, overtaking Raphinha.

Despite the late pressure, Barcelona managed to hold on and secure their place in the semi-finals.

They will now face Inter Milan or Bayern Munich, with Inter holding a 2–1 advantage heading into the second leg on Wednesday.

Guirassy’s dominant performance stood out, with seven touches in the opposition box, six total shots, and three goals.

He also completed both of his dribbles and won three duels, becoming only the fourth Dortmund player to score a hat-trick in the Champions League.

Brave Villa fall short

Meanwhile, in England, PSG narrowly edged past Aston Villa on aggregate despite a thrilling 3–2 loss at Villa Park.

The French champions progressed with a 5–4 aggregate score after surviving a fierce second-half comeback from the Premier League side.

PSG had looked in control after early goals from full-backs Nuno Mendes and Achraf Hakimi gave them a comfortable cushion.

But Aston Villa, who trailed by four goals in the tie at one point, came roaring back.

Youri Tielemans scored with a deflected effort before halftime to spark belief.

In the second half, John McGinn scored another deflected goal before Ezri Konsa added a third just minutes later, capitalising on a brilliant run by Marcus Rashford.

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Villa came close to levelling the tie but failed to make the most of the opportunities that came their way.

PSG also had late chances to seal it but failed to take them.

Despite Villa’s spirited effort, the two goals conceded in the opening half-hour ultimately proved costly.

PSG now advance to the semifinals, where they will meet the winner of the Arsenal vs Real Madrid clash.