Borussia Dortmund continues to be the surprise of this season’s Champions League as they defeat the favorites PSG in their home leg of UCL semi-final.
Former group stage rivals Borussia Dortmund and PSG went head-to-head once again but this time in the Champions League semi-final. The Germans, like their encounter in the group stage, have come on top with a goal from Niklas Fullkrug.
However, PSG created loads of chances in the second half, two of which hit the post, but their sloppy finishing cost them by the end. As it stands, it’s advantage Dortmund going into the second leg, but it’s a slim advantage, considering PSG’s firepower upfront.
Dortmund vs PSG: Play-by-Play
Both sides were tight-fisted in giving away an advantage early on. Cautious to go down early, the match had a slow start by both sides, but it finally got underway as Sabitzer forced Donnarumma into a save.
Dembele and Brandt both had chances before the half-hour mark but it was in the 36th minute that the deadlock was broken. Nico Scholtterbeck found Niclas Fullkug behind the PSG line and the divine first touch of the German striker gave him ample room to run at Donnarumma and slide it in perfectly into the PSG net.PSG lost Hernandez due to injury in the build-up to the goal and could’ve gone down to 2-0 but Donnarumma saved Sabitzer’s shot before the half-time.
PSG was a different animal in the second half
Parisiens went all out as the second half started but couldn’t get the job done as two of their efforts hit the two posts by Mbappe and Hakimi. Fabian Ruiz also had a great chance from close-range but his headed effort went wide.
Dortmund came back with an answer as Sancho dominated the PSG defence. Brandt and Fullkrug both had decent chances but failed to score on both occasions. Then a kerfuffle in PSG’s box happened as Dortmund players called for a penalty on Fullkrug. However, the referee Anthony Taylor didn’t see it as such.
PSG then had another couple of chances as Mbappe cleverly played Randal Kolo Muani in but the French international’s effort was saved by Kobel. Minutes later Hakimi’s incredible run found Dembele in the box but he balloned the ball over the top of the crossbar.
Brandt squandered yet another chance as a clever piece of play by Sancho led him through the PSG defence but his poor touch led to Marquinhos clearing the ball. Ruiz then lost another headed chance to seal the victory for the Germans as the two sides await the second leg in Paris.
Borussia Dortmund player ratings (4-2-3-1)
Gregor Kobel (GK) – 6/10: He bizarrely escaped a couple of efforts in the second half that hit the post but was decent whenever he was needed.
Julian Ryerson (RB) – 7/10: Had a decent match overall against Mbappe and Co. A decent clearance from him in the box was the cherry on top of his good performance.
Mats Hummels (CB) – 9/10: Calmly dominated Mbappe, leading the Dortmund defense with his experience and leadership.
Nico Schlotterbeck (CB) – 9/10: A perfect partner to Hummels in defense. His brilliant long-ball assist found Fullkrug perfectly, too.
Ian Maatsen (LB) – 7/10: Tasked with keeping Hakimi quiet, Maatsen were largely quiet going forward but did his job defensively.
Marcel Sabitzer (CM) – 7/10: Went forward when he had to help out the front four. Lost a couple of good chances.
Emre Can (CM) – 6/10: The captain did his job of shielding the defense quietly.
Jadon Sancho (RM) – 8/10: Was at his best again, causing the PSG defense all sorts of problems. Shame his time at Dortmund is coming to a close.
Julian Brandt (AM) – 6/10: Bombarded the PSG defense pretty well but was poor when it came to finishing chances.
Karim Adeyemi (LM) – 6/10: Caused some problems on the left wing but eventually ran out of gas.
Niclas Fullkrug (ST) – 9/10: His goal was a masterclass for any striker but his second-half miss tarnished his performance a bit.
Substitutes
Marco Reus (For Adeyemi – 83′) – 5/10
Marius Wolf (For Ryerson – 87′) – N/A
Felix Nmecha (For Brandt – 87′) – N/A
Youssoufa Moukoko (For Fullkrug – 91′) – N/A
Manager
Edin Terzic – 8/10: Know how to hurt PSG and defend against them but ultimately gave the visitors too much respect. Something that may haunt him in the second leg.
Paris Saint-Germain player ratings (4-3-3)
Gianluigi Donnarumma (GK) – 6/10: Made a couple of good saves to keep the defeat to a minimum.
Achraf Hakimi (RB) – 6/10: Was kept quiet by Maatsen but caused some problems down the right-hand side.
Marquinhos (CB) – 6/10: Saved PSG’s life in a couple of good moments.
Lucas Hernandez (CB) – 5/10: Was poor before he got injured in the first half.
Nuno Mendes (LB) – 4/10: He was embarrassed by Sancho all game and could have given away a penalty too!
Warren Zaire-Emery (CM) – 7/10: A fine distributor of the ball. Did well defensively too
Vitinha (CM) – 6/10: Just wasn’t his day to shine, despite having a lot of the ball.
Fabian Ruiz (CM) – 4/10: Could’ve scored twice but missed both great chances with poor finishing.
Ousmane Dembele (RW) – 5/10: Didn’t see much of the ball but had a great chance in the second half that he missed.
Bradley Barcola (LW) – 5/10: Wasn’t involved that much to be able to shine
Kylian Mbappe (ST) – 6/10: Kept quiet by Hummels but had his best opportunity hit the bar. Created a chance for Kolo Muani too.
Substitutes
Lucas Beraldo (For Hernandez – 42′) – 5/10
Randal Kolo Muani (For Barcola – 65′) – 6/10
Manager
Luis Enrique- 7/10: Set his team up quite well in the second half, considering the hostile atmosphere but ultimately his players let him down.
