In the quest to reach the Wembley final on June 1, Borussia Dortmund came a little closer this Wednesday. In the impressive Signal Iduna Park and that “yellow wall” of its fans, which generates an incredible atmosphere before each home game, The German club beat Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 in the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals.
If there was a concept that could be used in the previous one, it was contrast, because both casts go through opposite realities. Dortmund is fifth in the Bundesliga, 24 points behind the champion Bayer Leverkusen, and today his presence in the next Champions League is not certain. For its part, PSG is already the monarch of Ligue 1 again (no news) thanks to Monaco’s defeat at the weekend. They are known because they faced each other in the group stage and the two teams eliminated Spanish rivals in the quarterfinals (Atletico de Madrid and Barcelona, respectively).
The Parisians have a new opportunity to get rid of the regret of not fulfilling the great desire that was forged since the arrival of the Qatari capitals to control the club: to be the European champion. In this period with Nasser Al-Khelaifi in charge, they only reached the final once (2020), which they lost to Bayern Munich in the midst of Covid-19. They entrusted themselves to Kylian Mbappé, the ace of spades, who did not have his brightest day.
From a tight start, the first half saw a Dortmund team that was not comfortable with the visiting team’s disposition, going to challenge them for possession of the ball. Of course, Luis Enrique’s PSG did not generate risk in the rival area. In fact, During the first half they had no shots on goal. As the minutes passed, those led by Edin Terzic matched the actions, finding spaces and attacking from the outside with the work of Sancho, on the right, and Adeyemi, on the left. The leaders did a commendable physical job, throughout the band.
The yellow and black team was more effective in the initial 45′, despite the fact that the process of the match did not pass through them. In the 36th minute, the scoring opened with a goal from Niklas Füllkrug, who receives a long pass, controls and takes a shot with his left foot to beat Donnarumma. Marquinhos was hooked and enabled the tall center forward, who has left the Franco-Ivorian Sébastien Haller on the bench. Borussia Dortmund was even able to increase the difference before the break, but failed in the definition.
And Mbappé? The French star was nullified during the first half by the German defense. Luis Enrique installed him in the center of the attack, occupying the 9 position, with the nuances of his game. He could not take advantage of the explosiveness and physical exuberance when he started at speed. In the second period he appeared more in the game, without moving from the aforementioned location.
In the 51st minute it was the first risky chance in favor of PSG, a double shot on the post. Precisely, one of them was from Mbappé, which almost caused the tie. Then, in the 55th minute, Fabián Ruiz missed it alone, breaking from the middle. He didn’t hit the ball well. Paris controlled the actions and Dortmund did not mind compacting to get out quickly.
The panorama was open. It seemed like another goal was going to come, in either goal. Both 1-1 and 2-0 were feasible and could be adjusted to what the game delivered. For example, 10′ from the end Dembélé missed the tie, raising a shot in front of Kobel’s goal.
Although it is a minimal difference, Borussia Dortmund takes a step towards the great definition of the Champions League. BVB has not reached a Champions League final since 2013 (precisely at Wembley), when Jürgen Klopp was the coach and had players like Lewandowski and Gündogan. The rematch will be played next Tuesday the 7th, in France. The next day is the return of the clash between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich, which they tied 2-2 in Bavaria this Tuesday.
