Aston Villa and Dortmund out: Who could Barcelona and PSG face in the Champions League semifinals?
The first two UEFA Champions League quarterfinal matchups are in the books, with Aston Villa and Borussia Dortmund bowing out after failing to complete their respective comebacks. With FC Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain punching their tickets to the next round, attention now turns to who they could face in the semifinals.
PSG entered the second leg at Villa Park with a 2–1 advantage from the first leg in Paris. The French side extended their lead with two early goals before Aston Villa nearly staged a comeback, pulling off a thrilling 3–2 victory on the night.
Despite the scare, PSG advanced on aggregate, and head coach Luis Enrique made history by becoming the first manager to guide the French club to back-to-back Champions League semifinals.
Meanwhile, Barcelona survived a scare of their own. After dismantling Dortmund 4–0 in the first leg at Montjuic, the second leg in Germany was a different story. The Black and Yellow dominated much of the game, winning 3–1, but it wasn’t enough to overturn the aggregate. For the first time since the 2018–19 campaign, Barca are back in the Champions League semifinals.
Who could Barcelona and PSG face next?
Paris Saint-Germain will face the winner of the Real Madrid vs. Arsenal quarterfinal. Arsenal cruised to a 3–0 win in the first leg at the Emirates, but Los Blancos are preparing for a dramatic second-leg comeback at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Barcelona, meanwhile, will take on the winner of the Bayern Munich vs. Inter Milan tie. Inter stunned the German giants with a 2–1 win in Munich, setting up a decisive second leg in Italy where Bayern will need to turn the tide on the road.