Torres double hands Barcelona crucial victory in Dortmund

Barcelona climbed to second place on the Champions League table after Ferran Torres’ late winner sealed a hard-fought 3-2 victory over Borussia Dortmund.

Torres climbed off the bench to score twice at Signal Iduna Park as Hansi Flick’s side closed in on automatic qualification for the knockout stage.

The Blaugrana broke through seven minutes after the restart, Raphinha racing onto Dani Olmo’s through ball and firing past Gregor Kobel.

Serhou Guirassy equalized on the hour mark from the penalty spot after the Dortmund striker was fouled by Pau Cubarsi in the box.

Torres restored Barca’s lead four minutes after coming on, tucking home the rebound after Kobel initially denied Fermin Lopez, but Guirassy levelled once more in the 78th minute when he slid home Pascal Gross’ square pass.

However, the visitors snatched all three points five minutes from time, with Lamine Yamal finding Torres, who steered a low shot into the far corner.

Barca have won five consecutive Champions League matches for the first time since December 2020, while they have scored three or more goals in five successive games in the competition for the first time since doing so in the 2011-12 season.

Raphinha’s opener means no player has had more Champions League goal involvements in 2024 (12, level with Vinicius Junior), while Torres became the fourth substitute to score two or more goals as a substitute in the competition.

Meanwhile, Dortmund suffered their first home defeat in this competition since November 2021, ending their 13-match unbeaten run.

Guirassy’s brace means he has now been involved in 10 goals across his first 10 Champions League appearances (eight goals, two assists), with Sebastien Haller (11 goals, two assists) the only African player to record more involvements in his first 10 games.