Historic: Barça and Dortmund face off for the first time in a Champions KO stage

FC Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund will measure forces in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Champions League 2024-2025. The Catalans made it to the top 8 teams on the continent for the second consecutive season after eliminating Benfica with an aggregate score of 4-1, while the Germans advanced after eliminating Lille in a thrilling tie that ended with an aggregate score of 3-2.

Although the culés and the black and yellows have faced each other three times in the group stage, the quarter-final clash will be the first between both teams in a KO stage of the continental competition. The German team has faced Spanish rivals in the Champions League (Barça, Real Madrid, Atlético de Madrid, Málaga, and Sevilla), and they have won against all except the Catalan side.

The history favors Barça

Although there haven't been many clashes between Barcelona and Dortmund, the blaugranas remain unbeaten against the Germans in the European championship, recording a balance of 2 victories and 1 draw. The first time they faced each other in the Champions was in the group stage of the 2019-2020 season. In the first match of that edition of the tournament, both teams drew 0-0 in a tight match played at Signal Iduna Park.

However, in matchday 5, both teams met again, this time at the Camp Nou, and the Catalans achieved a resounding victory of 3-1. In that match, the trio formed by Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, and Antoine Griezmann was responsible for sealing the actions in favor of Ernesto Valverde's side, while Jadon Sancho scored the consolation goal for the visitors.

It took five years for the blaugranas and the black and yellows to meet again in the Champions. This happened on December 11, in Westphalia during matchday 6 of the league phase of the championship, with Hansi Flick's team achieving a crucial victory thanks to goals from Raphinha and Ferran Torres (x2) in the last 15 minutes of the match (2-3). Serhou Guirassy scored twice for the locals in that duel, but his team left home with a defeat in hand.

🏆 Group stage of the UEFA Champions League 2019/20

• September 17, 2019, in Dortmund (Germany) - Matchday 1 - Borussia Dortmund 0-0 FC Barcelona
• November 27, 2019, in Barcelona (Spain) - Matchday 5 - FC Barcelona 3-1 Borussia Dortmund (Lionel Messi, Luis Suárez, Antoine Griezmann; Jadon Sancho)

🏆 League phase of the UEFA Champions League 2024/25

• December 11, 2024, in Dortmund (Germany) - Matchday 6 - Borussia Dortmund 2-3 FC Barcelona (Serhou Guirassy x2; Raphinha, Ferran Torres x2)

How Barcelona and Dortmund reached the Champions Round of 16

FC Barcelona's matches in the UEFA Champions 24-25:

• AS Monaco 2-1 FC Barcelona (matchday 1 of the league phase, in Monaco).
• FC Barcelona 5-0 Young Boys (matchday 2 of the league phase, in Montjuïc).
• FC Barcelona 4-1 Bayern Munich (matchday 3 of the league phase, in Montjuïc).
• Red Star 2-5 FC Barcelona (matchday 4 of the league phase, in Belgrade).
• FC Barcelona 3-0 Stade Brest (matchday 5 of the league phase, in Montjuïc).
• Borussia Dortmund 2-3 FC Barcelona (matchday 6 of the league phase, in Dortmund).
• Benfica 4-5 FC Barcelona (matchday 7 of the league phase, in Lisbon).
• FC Barcelona 2-2 Atalanta (matchday 8 of the league phase, in Montjuïc).
• Benfica 0-1 FC Barcelona (first leg of the Round of 16, in Lisbon).
• FC Barcelona 3-1 Benfica (second leg of the Round of 16, in Montjuïc).

Borussia Dortmund's matches in the UEFA Champions 24-25:

• Club Brugge 0-3 Borussia Dortmund (matchday 1 of the league phase, in Bruges).
• Borussia Dortmund 7-1 Celtic (matchday 2 of the league phase, in Dortmund).
• Real Madrid 5-2 Borussia Dortmund (matchday 3 of the league phase, in Madrid).
• Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Sturm Graz (matchday 4 of the league phase, in Dortmund).
• Dinamo Zagreb 0-3 Borussia Dortmund (matchday 5 of the league phase, in Zagreb).
• Borussia Dortmund 2-3 FC Barcelona (matchday 6 of the league phase, in Dortmund).
• Bologna 2-1 Borussia Dortmund (matchday 7 of the league phase, in Bologna).
• Borussia Dortmund  3-1 Shakhtar Donetsk (matchday 8 of the league phase, in Dortmund).
• Sporting CP 0-3 Borussia Dortmund (first leg of the 'play-off', in Lisbon).
• Borussia Dortmund 0-0 Sporting CP (second leg of the 'play-off', in Dortmund).
• Borussia Dortmund 1-1 Lille (first leg of the Round of 16, in Dortmund).
• Lille 1-2 Borussia Dortmund (second leg of the Round of 16, in Lille).

Barça, against their ghosts in the quarter-finals... without the home factor

The Catalans will seek to overcome their ghosts at this stage, as last season they were defeated by Paris Saint-Germain after they came back from a 2-3 deficit with a thrashing at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys (1-4), on the fateful night of Ronald Araujo's expulsion. However, the current landscape is completely opposite to that moment. Hansi Flick's team is an unbeatable machine that has not known defeat in 2025, accumulating 14 victories and three draws in 17 matches.

Despite this, the culés will not be able to count on the home factor in the second leg of the quarter-final tie, as this was defined in the draw on February 21. A significant handicap for the blaugranas, who have made Montjuïc their 'fortress' in the continental championship, recording four wins and 1 draw in the 5 matches they have played at home in the tournament.

The tie will begin at the Estadi Olímpic Lluís Companys and will close at the Signal Iduna Park, so the blaugranas must strike first at home to travel to Germany with the peace of mind of having an advantage in the aggregate score.