Robert Lewandowski returned to torment his former club on Wednesday night, netting a brace as Barcelona dismantled Borussia Dortmund 4-0 in a dominant Champions League quarter-final first leg.
The Blaugrana took control early at Camp Nou, with 17-year-old Lamine Yamal setting the tone.
The winger forced an early save and later combined with Raphinha to repeatedly stretch the Dortmund backline.
Barcelona broke through via a scrappy opener when Pau Cubarsi’s effort was poked over the line by Raphinha, surviving a lengthy VAR review.
Despite sporadic threats from Serhou Guirassy and Karim Adeyemi, Dortmund lacked cutting edge and were kept quiet by a composed Barça defence and goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny.
Lewandowski doubled the lead three minutes into the second half, heading home after Raphinha nodded Yamal’s diagonal ball across goal.
The Polish striker made it 3-0 shortly after, finishing calmly following a slick move led by substitute Fermin Lopez and Yamal.
The final blow came late, as Dortmund’s backline crumbled under pressure. Lewandowski pressed high, winning possession and feeding Raphinha, who played in Yamal to coolly finish the fourth and seal a commanding result.
Hansi Flick’s side were sharper, faster and tactically superior throughout the night, leaving Edin Terzic’s men shellshocked and with a mountain to climb in the return leg in Germany.
With a four-goal cushion, Barcelona now look all but set for a place in the semi-finals.
