Borussia Dortmund’s Champions League journey came to an end after a 5–3 aggregate defeat to Barcelona in the quarter-finals, but the night belonged to Serhou Guirassy, who etched his name into African football history with a stunning individual performance.
The Guinean forward produced a sensational hat-trick, almost single-handedly attempting to revive Dortmund against a below-par Barcelona side. Guirassy opened the scoring from the penalty spot in the first half before doubling his tally just two minutes after the restart with a powerful header. Fifteen minutes from time, the lanky striker completed his treble with a composed finish inside the box.
Those goals took Guirassy’s tally to 13 in the ongoing Champions League campaign, making him the competition’s leading scorer this season, one ahead of Barcelona winger Raphinha.
In the process, Guirassy became the first Borussia Dortmund player to score 13 goals in a single Champions League season, surpassing the previous club records jointly held by Erling Haaland and Robert Lewandowski, who both peaked at 10.
The 28-year-old’s impact goes even further. With 17 goal involvements (13 goals and 4 assists), Guirassy now holds the record for the most Champions League goal contributions by an African player, overtaking Mohamed Salah’s previous mark of 14.
Most notably, Guirassy has become Africa’s highest goalscorer in a single Champions League edition, eclipsing Sébastien Haller’s long-standing record of 11 goals set during the 2021/22 season.
Dortmund faced Barcelona twice this season, during the group stage and the knockout rounds—and remarkably, Guirassy scored every single goal for the German side against the Catalans. His hat-trick also made him the first African player to score a Champions League hat-trick against Barcelona.
Although Dortmund bowed out of the competition, Guirassy’s historic campaign ensures his name will be remembered long after the final whistle, marking one of the greatest individual Champions League seasons ever by an African player.
