Barcelona Crushes Dortmund in UCL Leg 1 as Fans Hype Lewandowski, Yamal, Raphinha

Well that wasn't close.

Barcelona absolutely battered Borussia Dortmund 4-0 on Wednesday in the first leg of their Champions League quarterfinal matchup, led by Robert Lewandowski's brace and goals from Raphinha and Lamine Yamal.

By basically every metric, this was pure domination. Barca held 60.3 percent of possession, out-shot Dortmund 18-13 (10-3 on goal). About the only advantage for Dortmund came on corners (6-4). In expected goals, Barcelona held a 3.74-1.30 advantage.

Much of that came down to the attacking prowess of Lewandowski, Raphinha and Yamal, and fans and pundits alike were quick to give them their flowers:

While there is a second leg to be played in Germany next week, this matchup feels done and dusted. It would take a meltdown of epic proportions from Barcelona to even make things close, and the current La Liga leaders are in fine form at the moment.

Frankly, Wednesday's performance should have them marked as the UCL favorites going forward. There isn't a better frontline in the world at the moment, and Barca, in general, look like a dynamo under manager Hansi Flick.

Anything can happen in football, and Dortmund have plenty of talent and UCL experience. But Barcelona appear to be playing football in a different stratosphere than their German opponents at the moment, and anything less than a relatively stress-free second leg would be a major surprise.