"He is the reason we're through", "Sole reason Barca is surviving" - Fans hail Barcelona star after 5-3 agg. win over Dortmund
Barcelona fans online praised goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny after their 5-3 aggregate win over Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals. Their qualification to the semi-finals came despite their 3-1 loss to the German side in the second leg on Tuesday, April 15.
Barcelona began with a 4-0 lead from the UCL quarter-final first leg at home. However, it proved to be a tough night for the Catalans at Signal Iduna Park in the second leg after Serhou Guirassy netted a hat-trick (11' p, 49' and 76'). An own goal from Remy Bensebaini denied Borussia Dortmund a clean sheet (54').
Despite conceding three goals, Barcelona shot-stopper Wojciech Szczesny delivered an impressive performance against Dortmund. The Pole made eight crucial saves, six of which were from inside the box. He also made two clearances during the game. However, Szczesny was also responsible for the Catalans conceding a penalty (11') after he fouled Pascal Grob, which led to Dortmund's first goal against them.
Fans took to X to react to Wojciech Szczesny's performance against Borussia Dortmund, with many crediting him for Barca's qualification in the UCL semi-finals. One Culer wrote:
"Someone who has watched Barca consistently for years. The only difference this tie (as of now) to their bottling ties has mostly been MATS. 7 shots on target from BVB and 2xG accumulated. Szczesny 6 saves (tho 1 mistake) is the sole reason Barca is surviving. Bvb been great."
"We would have eliminated like Roma and Liverpool if Ter Stegen was playing today. Szczesny made 8 saves," another user opined.
"Apart from the Penalty that he committed, Szczesny has done a good job," another Culer remarked.
"We are so lucky to have SZCZESNY as our Goalkeeper! He got his mistakes but he saved Barcelona from a lot of possible tears," a fan commented.
Fans continued to hail Szczesny for his performance, with one netizen claiming he made up for Ronald Araujo's mediocre performance. They wrote:
"Araujo is the Ter Stegen of defenders this guy is the worst CB to have in big European nights. Szczesny is the reason we’re through."
"With Ter Stegen we’d have been gone through another humiliating exit. I’m ABSOLUTELY sure of that. Thank you Szczesny for showing what a competent and decent keeper looks like," a fan chimed in.
"Despite conceding a penalty it was a masterclass from Szczesny. This is my keeper for the Semi Finals," a Culer added.
Note: All in-match statistics have been taken from SofaScore and are subject to change as per the website's prerogative.
"We have to be happy about that" - Barcelona coach Hansi Flick makes feelings clear after qualifying for the UEFA Champions League semi-finals
In the post-match press conference, Barcelona coach Hansi Flick called their qualification for the UCL semi-finals a success. His statements came despite the Catalans' 3-1 loss to Borussia Dortmund in the second leg, leading to an overall 5-3 win on aggregate. Flick said (via Barcelona's official website):
"We are through the tie, and that was our objective. It's fantastic for the club to be in the semi-finals. Being in the Champions League semi-finals is a great success and we have to be happy about that."
He continued:
"We played against an excellent side in Borussia Dortmund, who made life impossible for us. We have to look at the positives and not the negatives. (...) It will be important to look back at this game and accept what happened, but we also need to look forward - we have big challenges ahead."
This season marks the first time Barcelona qualified for the Champions League semi-finals since the 2018-19 season. They were knocked out after a 4-3 aggregate loss to Liverpool in the semi-finals back in 2019 under Lionel Messi's leadership.