Barcelona: Raphinha and Robert Lewandowski struck again to lead Barcelona to a commanding 4-0 win over Borussia Dortmund in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals.
Lewandowski scored twice and Raphinha had a goal and an assist, leaving the Catalan club in a strong position to reach the semifinals for the first time since 2019.
Lamine Yamal also scored as Barcelona dealt a commanding blow to the German side’s hopes of advancing.
The return match is next Tuesday at Dortmund, which was last year’s runners-up in a final against Barcelona rivals Real Madrid.
“We played very well but we can’t be thinking about the semifinals yet,” Lewandowski said.
“We scored four goals at home but we still have the return leg to play.”
In Paris, a wonder goal from Khvicha Kvaratskhelia upstaged a brilliant curling shot from teammate Désiré Doué as Paris Saint-Germain beat Aston Villa 3-1 in the first leg of their quarterfinals.
After Morgan Rogers gave Villa the lead in the 35th minute, the 19-year-old Doué drew PSG level four minutes later with the 12th goal of his breakthrough season.
Kvaratskhelia put PSG in front four minutes after the break on Wednesday and left back Nuno Mendes added a third goal in stoppage time at the Parc des Princes stadium with a fine finish of his own to the dismay of watching Villa fans, including Britain’s Prince William.
“I think the result reflects the difference between us and them,” said PSG coach Luis Enrique, whose side has greater firepower and showed more of a threat going forward.
“Our objective is to keep the ball and be aggressive in attack.”