Dortmund downs PSG; First Champions League Final since 2013
Borussia Dortmund punched a ticket to the UEFA Champions League Final after advancing past PSG on Tuesday. Following the side’s 1-0 win in Germany, a draw would have been good enough to reach the final at Wembley on June 1. Yet, Mats Hummels’ second-half goal gave Dortmund a pivotal lead that it sat on for the rest of the game.
PSG hit the post or crossbar four times on the night to make it six times in the semifinals. That was perhaps the difference as PSG failed to score in either leg. Kylian Mbappe, in all likelihood, ends his PSG career in Europe with no more than a trip to the Final in 2020. Instead, it is Dortmund who goes to Wembley. It will be a chance for redemption for Marco Reus in his last game for Borussia Dortmund, where he lost the Champions League Final in 2013.
BVB’s defense holds PSG without a goal in the semifinals
The first half lived up to the expectations for Borussia Dortmund. Edin Terzic’s instructions were clear: Defend the lead, and hit PSG on the counter when the time arises. PSG was devoid of any strong chances in the first 45 minutes. Kylian Mbappe had some mazy runs. Neither he nor his PSG teammates did enough. Each shot was either wide or tame enough to be a comfortable save for Gregor Kobel.
The best chance of the first 45 came to Dortmund. A long run starting in the Dortmund half from Karim Adeyemi eventually spilled into the box. Adeyemi, pressured by two PSG defenders, got a strong shot away. Gianluigi Donnarumma got a strong left hand on the ball to deny the attempt. In doing so, he kept PSG’s deficit at one.
To start the second half, PSG came out inspired. Within the first two minutes, PSG struck the woodwork. After a cross from Kylian Mbappe on the left side, the ball popped out to Warren Zaire-Emery. The teenager took the shot first time on the volley from inside the six-yard box. From a tight angle, the Frenchman clanged the ball off the post, and the ball deflected back off him and out for a goal kick.
Dortmund capitalized three minutes later. Julian Brandt’s corner toward the back post found a relatively unmarked Mats Hummels. Uncontested, Hummels dunked the ball into the net. The Germans now had a two-goal lead on aggregate, and they had a foot in the Champions League Final.
The woodwork is the hero as Dortmund reaches Champions League Final
Dortmund hunkered down for the remaining 40 minutes of the contest with a two-goal lead. PSG pressed on by hitting the woodwork for the fourth time in the tie via Nuno Mendes. PSG had a penalty shout in the 65th minute. Hummels brought down Ousmane Dembele, and PSG thought it had a penalty. The referee initially pointed to the spot but then corrected his decision to be a free kick on the edge of the area. The attempt led to nothing, and Dortmund went unscathed.
Gregor Kobel was not as busy as the center-backs in front of him with their clearances. However, the shot-stopper denied Kylian Mbappe from close range to preserve his shutout in the tie. Marquinhos narrowly missed a glancing header on a long free kick in the 80th minute, too.
For a fifth time in the semifinals, PSG hit the frame of the goal. Calamitous defending from Dortmund yielded semblances of chances for a handful of PSG players. Mbappe had the best chance, and his shot bounced into the ground. Kobel stretched his arm out to tip it onto and over the crossbar. Then, in the 88th minute, Vitinha slammed the crossbar. A shot from 24 yards away swerved away from Kobel and banged the woodwork. From an outsider’s perspective, it became apparent that PSG was simply not supposed to win this game.
PSG’s last gasp of a chance came one minute into stoppage time. Kylian Mbappe thought he earned a penalty when Nico Schlotterbeck ushered him off the ball. The referee waved PSG’s claims away, and energy rushed out of PSG’s attack and the stadium entire.
Dortmund advanced and avenged its loss to Paris at the beginning of this Champions League campaign.
PHOTOS: IMAGO