BARCELONA-- Imperious Barcelona thumped visitors Borussia Dortmund 4-0 in their Champions League quarter-final first leg on Wednesday after Robert Lewandowski netted 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, the treble-chasing Barca predictably dominated the opening stages and grabbed the lead following 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 following the break and it took them only three minutes to score the second 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 minute.
"I think we played very well, but we are not thinking about the semi-finals 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."
Barcelona have enjoyed an incredible 23-game unbeaten run across all competitions and 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.
On Wednesday, Dortmund keeper Kobel denied Lewandowski and Yamal from close-range, but there was little he could do when Raphinha fired over the goalline 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 an inch out.
After that Dortmund succumbed to Barca's power and, following Fermin Lopez stroke off the post, Lewandowski extended their lead with a bullet strike and Yamal rounded off the beating with a tidy finish from a quick counter.
