During the peak of Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid, I remember thinking, “How could anyone enjoy watching this?” I have now been enlightened. Borussia Dortmund went to Paris with the desire to win, even if that meant conceding the ball to PSG, and they did exactly that. Dortmund boasted only 30% possession, less than half the number of passes, and less than a third of the number of shots compared to PSG. Despite this, Dortmund put on an excellent performance that featured a lot of bodies in the box and a lot of luck.
Here are our ratings from Borussia Dortmund’s 1-0 win against Paris Saint-Germain:
Starting XI
Gregor Kobel
Patrick: 8
Despite PSG creating 2.9 xG (according to FBref), Gregor Kobel only faced a PSxG (post-shot expected goals) of 0.8. This reaffirms that PSG managed to create opportunities for themselves, but their finishing was worse than dreadful.
I am sure Kobel was more than happy with PSG’s woeful finishing, and the Swiss Keeper rose to the occasion when he was called upon. He notched five saves, only one more than the goalpost, and looked comfortable on the ball.
Paul: 8
Despite PSG’s offensive onslaught in the second half, Kobel didn’t have to do much work. He delivered whenever he was called upon, though.
Yash: 7
Ian Maatsen
Patrick: 8
PSG’s trio of Dembele, Hakimi, and Zaire-Emery targeted Maatsen throughout this match, and the loanee left-back struggled at times but ultimately limited their damage. He was Dortmund’s most involved player in this match and recorded 72 touches, more than any BvB player.
Paul: 7
Yash: 6
Looked great going forward, but was defensively susceptible. On another day, we could’ve conceded a few down that wing.
Nico Schlotterbeck
Patrick: 10
Schlotterbeck looked nothing short of the center-back Dortmund wants him to be in this game. He made seven clearances, two recoveries, one block, and 13 defensive actions while reading the game terrifically.
On the ball, however, Schlotterbeck was absurd. He led Dortmund in progressive passing distance with 493 yards compared to Hummels’ 70 and boasted the highest completion rate of Dortmund players to more than one pass with 87.8%. Schlotterbeck acted as Dortmund’s initiator in possession and helped start attacks from deep. On top of that, the play that led to Hummels’ eventual corner-kick goal came from Schlotterbeck breaking the press and carrying the ball deep into midfield.
Paul: 9
Yash: 10
Schlotti was incredible last night. Patrick’s bit says it all: he contributed enormously on both sides of the ball.
Mats Hummels
Patrick: 10
Paul: 9
Hummels scored a huge goal to go along with his huge defensive display. I think Hummels has probably been BVB’s best player this season, but he has played at a whole other level in the Champions League. He’s arguably the player of the tournament.
Yash: 10
The standard Hummels has set this season in the Champions League means that giving him a nine would likely have constituted a comparatively disappointing performance. Fortunately, he also scored a crucial goal to raise his score to ten.
Julian Ryerson
Photo by Markus Gilliar – GES Sportfoto/Getty Images
Patrick: 9
Paul: 9
Ryerson was tasked with the most challenging job of the night – keeping Kylian Mbappe quiet – and he did a pretty good job! No one would have expected Ryerson to shut Mbappe down completely. That’s just not possible. But Ryerson managed to limit his impact on the game and teamed up with the rest of the BVB defense to reduce Mbappe’s threat to just a handful of scary moments.
Yash: 9
Emre Can
Patrick: 6
Can Dortmund’s weak point this season, and PSG recognized that in today’s game. It was evident that Luis Enrique instructed Goncalo Ramos to put pressure on Can whenever the captain got the ball, which worked well. The most notable instance was in the 30th minute, when Ramos took the ball off Can in transition to lead to a 4v4 that Dembele shot into orbit.
Paul: 5
Can was the weak link in the BVB offense, getting pressed aggressively every time he had the ball. He didn’t cope particularly well but he kept plugging away in the middle of the park and avoiding too many unforced errors.
Yash: 6
Marcel Sabitzer
Patrick: 7
This was not an expansive game like the one we saw against Madrid several weeks ago. Instead, Sabitzer was another body used to pack the box and had nine defensive actions and only 25 touches across 90 minutes.
Paul: 7
Yash: 7
Deployed as a work-horse to shut down the passing lane to one of PSG’s three central midfielders, and did just that. Solid.
Julian Brandt
Patrick: 8
Brandt played much deeper than in previous games and was tasked with prioritizing possession rather than creating chances. He still managed to grab the assist with a well-taken corner.
Paul: 7
Yash: 8
With his hard work in defense and intelligence in possession, Brandt was crucial to our success in transition. I have attended Hummels with a beautiful corner.
Jadon Sancho
Patrick: 7
Sancho did not have the same record-setting night he had last week, but he looked dangerous every time he touched the ball – impressive, considering he drew two or three defenders every time he touched the ball.
Paul: 7
Sancho was great before the Hummels goal, and it was only a product of the way Terzic set up to see the game out that rendered Sancho a little useless in the final 40 minutes.
Yash: 6
Had a tough time getting into the game in the second half because of the new shape and was largely kept quiet by a PSG defense that seemed to have learned their lesson from last week
Karim Adeyemi
Patrick: 7
Stealing a line from Paul in Fear the Wall’s Discord channel, which you can join here; “His energy is so useful, especially combined with his speed. When he plays like this, it means a bad Adeyemi game is still worth a lot.” Adeyemi looked poor in possession but remains Dortmund’s most physically gifted player. His speed, energy, and ability to be everywhere Dortmund needs him to be is so important to this team when the younger winger is focused. Dortmund lost a lot on both sides of the ball when he came off early.
Paul: 6
Adeyemi’s hard work out of possession was vital for BVB, and unless he was carrying a knock or was gassed, I think it was a mistake to bring him off so early.
Yash: 6.5
Adeyemi was on the pitch for one thing and one thing only: to use his pace and work rate to provide Maatsen with defensive support. He did that just fine.
Niclas Füllkrug
Patrick: 8
Paul: 7
Füllkrug didn’t record the headlines like in the first leg, but he was still vital in BVB’s success. He kept the PSG backline occupied and was excellent in the buildup.
Yash: 8
Battled with Beraldo and Marquinhos all evening and affected the game well in the buildup phase.
Substitutes
Marco Reus
Patrick: 5
I went from thinking, “Reus should never leave” over the weekend to, “I can see why he is leaving; his legs are shot. While Adeyemi brings an unmatched physicality, Reus looks slow and unable to do the dirty work Dortmund required. It felt like Marco came on to rally the troops and boost morale for everyone wearing a Dortmund jersey.
Paul: 6
I don’t think Reus was brilliant when he came on, but he brought as much energy as possible. His introduction coincided with BVB being put under the cosh, but that had more to do with Terzic’s decision to give PSG the ball and try and defend the lead than anything Reus himself did.
Yash: 6
In my heart, this one’s a ten.
Niklas Süle
Patrick: 6
Süle played 23 minutes, had two touches, and only one recorded pass. He was just another brick in the wall.
Paul: 6
Yash: 6
Felix Nmecha
N/A
Overall
Patrick: 8
Borussia Dortmund looked like they belonged in the first half. They had opportunities in transition and limited PSG to 0 big chances and an xG of only 0.54. Tinkering from both coaches in the second half saw Dortmund ultimately concede any control over the game. In the second half, Dortmund completed only 70 passes, and their lone shot on target was Hummels’ header. Dortmund played very defensive football, played it well, and They were extremely fortunate that PSG were wasteful with their chances.
Paul: 8
There were two contrasting parts to BVB’s performance last night. Before Mats Hummels’ scored Dortmund’s second goal in the tie, Dortmund were hanging with PSG, perhaps even having the edge. Once Dortmund had a two-goal cushion, Edin Terzic made some questionable adjustments, inviting a barrage of pressure onto the BVB defense. I think that was a mistake, and it required a mammoth performance by the whole backline and a lot of luck for Dortmund to come away without conceding. Luckily, PSG failed to punish Dortmund’s passiveness, and we are heading to a Champions League final.
As has been the case throughout this unlikely Champions League run, BVB will need luck on their side to win the trophy. They will need to do their part to keep the game as close as possible, but they will be huge underdogs, whoever they are playing. Anything can happen over 90 minutes, though. With a little bit of luck, BVB might do the unthinkable.
Yash: 8
Making a Champions League semi with this squad is no small achievement. Making the end? Unthinkable. The coaching team deserves massive props for the way the campaign has gone. They’ve got this team firing together and have iterated upon their early-season tactical flops to produce a cohesive fighting unit.
We set up well enough against PSG across both legs and even though the substitutions seemed unimaginative, the defenders put their lives on the line, with PSG restricted to just five shots on target overall. Several of the higher xG chances that PSG created (see Zaire-Emery and Mbappe’s respective post hits) also looked well covered, even if they had been on target. We did have to ride our luck at times, as Nuno Mendes and Vitinha struck the frame of the goal with Greg beaten all ends up, but when you’re up against one of Europe’s super teams, a little bit of luck is often necessary. A draw would probably have been the fairest outcome here, but the win and clean sheet will hopefully give the boys a world of good heading into even more unfamiliar territory.
I’d also like to point out today’s refereeing performance. Orsato was brilliant today, controlling the game well and not giving either side an extra inch. It was a real breath of fresh air, especially given the ridiculous penalty PSG had against us in the group stage and the unusually large number of refereeing errors that have hindered us in recent Champions League campaigns. Grazie mille, Daniele!
