Borussia Dortmund bluffs PSG and wins the home Champions League semi-final match

NOS Football•yesterday, 10:57 PM

Borussia Dortmund won the first leg of the Champions League semi-finals against Paris Saint-Germain 1-0. The only goal was scored by striker Niclas Füllkrug.

The return will take place in Paris next week. Then Dortmund can reach its first Champions League final since 2013. Then Bayern Munich was too strong. The same team defeated PSG in its only Champions League final in 2020.

At Dortmund, Donyell Malen, back from injury, did not get any playing minutes yet. With Ian Maatsen there was a Dutchman in the starting line-up.

PSG has never won a Champions League after the Qatari takeover. The craving for it is enormous. Yet Dortmund started the semi-finals more eagerly than the Parisians.

Only after about twenty minutes did Spanish coach Luis Enrique’s PSG get a grip on the match. But it was precisely at that stage that Dortmund struck.

Nico Schlotterbeck surprised the French defense with a long ball, which was perfectly taken by Füllkrug. He hit hard from the left corner of the penalty area.

PSG then looked for a goal with more conviction. Shortly after the break, he fell twice within a hair’s breadth. First Kylian Mbappé shot the ball on the post and less than ten seconds later Achraf Hakimi did exactly the same.

Yet Dortmund remained relatively easy to survive. In fact, Dortmund could have won with bigger numbers.

Julian Brandt, who missed a good chance in the first half, was just prevented from scoring by Marquinhos. Füllkrug also almost scored.

In the final phase, PSG pressed hard, but it was not enough. Next week the star ensemble can try to repair the damage at home.