The slaps that are always good to receive: the hot notes from Borussia Dortmund vs. Barça

BarcelonaBarça deservedly fell to Borussia Dortmund in the second leg of the Champions League quarterfinals. The Germans had moments of immense advantage, but fell two goals short of forcing extra time.

A strategically timed blow. Fortunately, the slap in the face didn't have tragic consequences. However, it shouldn't be lost sight of that Flick's Barça was a shadow of what was on display this season. Who hasn't briefly been haunted by the ghosts of Dzeko or Origi with every goal, with every Guirassy save? The sloppiness that, after a favorable scoreline, condemned the Catalans to Dortmund was the same that preceded the stumbling blocks and subsequent eliminations in Rome (2018) and Liverpool (2019). The lesson must be learned now that the margin is back to zero in the first Champions League semifinals in six years and that Madrid will want to fight for La Liga and the Copa del Rey.

The essential number 1. Pedri is so good that he deserves to be called an era in his own right. He's the most distinctive player of the current squad, designed by Laporta, Alemany, and Deco, inherited from Bartomeu's administration. Far ahead of Ter Stegen, De Jong, and Araujo, the other survivors. Regarding the Canary Island midfielder, he has been indispensable to every coach he's had at Barcelona. The problem? His physical fragility. This year seems to have resolved this defect, and Flick is enjoying it like Xavi never could. All in all, it's good for him to rest from time to time, even if he's missed every minute. His absence is never fixable or replaceable.

The essential number 2. Pedri's ability to draw opponents in, deny them the ball, and threaten them with poisoned candy behind their backs is the weapon that makes Flick's dizzying Barça a less predictable team. Iñigo Martínez, also a substitute in Dortmund, is another difference-maker in the German coach's playbook. No one is better than the Basque defender at defending with a deep line and organizing the forward movement to keep opposing attackers offside. Few are like him—only Cubarsí and Kounde are at his level—when it comes to playing balls to break lines from deep positions, but none have the influence to lead such a young group without an armband, to deliver two goals in time. With Iñigo on the pitch, Barça would have been more intense.

I'm sorry, but there are. To give Iñigo a rest, Flick had to put Araujo in the center of attention. It feels bad to point the finger at the Uruguayan again as the culprit for certain messes, but he simply doesn't fit in with this Barça's plan. They float him around coming out from the back, he's a toss-up when it comes to offsides, and, with his confidence undermined, he's capable of giving away balls that he should send into the stands for the opponents to shoot at the goalkeeper. This last point is what led Guirassy to complete a hat trick That didn't earn a qualification, but at times he scared the Barcelona fans with 15 minutes left. It's a shame because he was so bold and gave his all, but perhaps the best thing that could happen with Araujo is for someone to take him for a fortune.