Jonathan Liew was in Dortmund tonight. His report is here. Thanks for reading this MBM. Nighty night!
Despite a plethora of chances for both sides, Niclas Füllkrug’s first-half goal was enough to give Dortmund the advantage going into next week’s decisive leg
Updated
Wed 1 May 2024 17.33 EDT
First published on Wed 1 May 2024 13.30 EDT
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Key events
Dortmund’s Mats Hummels speaks to TNT Sports. “It was intense … it was a lot of fun … everybody gave it all 100 percent … we didn’t play perfect so it’s good to see we can still get a result against such a good team … all around we can be very happy with the result … we know how hard it is for opponents to beat us here … problem is we have to go to Paris … I have never won in Paris so it’d be a good time to try for the first time … it will be a good atmosphere … we can look forward to a great game … it is 90 minutes to the final … we know what we want … we are one little step closer … but we are not over the finish line.”
As part of the team that lost to Bayern Munich in the 2013 Wembley final, the 35-year-old defender is asked if he’s hoping for a chance to go back there and right some wrongs. “Of course … it was my only Champions League final in my career, it would be so great to have a second one … especially at this age, I did not expect a chance that big to come again … it would be a dream.
Post-match postbag. “More scoring chances than an NBA playoff game. That was incredible” – Gary Breen
“Based on today’s performance PSG’s home address is somewhere on the Rue de Misses” – Peter Oh
“No English clubs, and Anthony Taylor proving there should be no English officials. Does the top tier of English football need to take a look at itself?” – David Singleton
The roof comes off the Westfalenstadion as the final whistle goes! The two coaches Edin Terzic and Luis Enrique embrace each other with the most genuine of smiles, on the verge of laughing after witnessing a fantastically entertaining first leg. Dortmund sit in a line, in front of the Yellow Wall, soaking in the celebratory atmosphere. But how on earth did it end 1-0? Kylian Mbappé and Achraf Hakimi hit the inside of both posts in the space of ten seconds; Ousmane Dembélé blazed over when it was surely easier to score. Up the other end, Niclas Füllkrug was shoved in the back by Nuno Mendes and should have been awarded a penalty, while the electric Jadon Sancho set up Julian Brandt for what looked like a second, only for Marquinhos to arrive out of nowhere with a block for the ages. Cast-iron fun from beginning to end … and all of that without mentioning Füllkrug’s goal, the ball pulled out of the air delicately and dispatched with venom. Next week’s second leg in Paris promises to be a doozy.
FULL TIME: Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Paris Saint-Germain
The underdogs will take a precious lead to Paris next week!
90 min +3: PSG press but Dortmund hold their shape. Fabián Ruiz eventually crosses. Kobel claims and eats up a few seconds by flopping down.
90 min +1: The first of four additional minutes sees the goalscorer Niclas Füllkrug replaced by young Youssoufa Moukoko.
90 min: Zaïre-Emery meets a left-wing cross, but there’s another close-range header flying harmlessly over the bar.
89 min: On TNT, Ally McCoist – who has been rhapsodising over Jadon Sancho all evening – names him as his man of the match. He doesn’t even have to make a selection, TNT aren’t demanding one, but insists on doing so anyway.
87 min: A right-wing cross drops to Fabián Ruiz, eight yards out. He’s got to work Kobel at the very least, but flays a header high and wide. What a miss (pt. XXXVIII in an ongoing series). Meanwhile Nmecha and Wolf replace Brandt and Ryerson.
85 min: That Sancho pass, though. A delicate little flick, perfectly weighted, and between Beraldo’s legs to boot! If only Brandt hadn’t taken a touch before shooting. He allowed Marquinhos to intervene.
84 min: Brandt barrels down the middle and lays off to Sancho on his right. Instead of shooting, Sancho slips a return ball down the channel. It looks like Brandt has to score, but the second he shoots, Marquinhos arrives from nowhere to block. What defending! The ball’s sent back in from the right, but Reus heads over. Top defending that spoilt the chance of a picture-book goal. What a ball that was from Sancho!
82 min: Vitinha drags a shot wide from 12 yards. PSG have had their chances. Then Adeyemi, who let Hakimi tear clear a couple of minutes ago, is replaced by Reus, exhausted. He’s put in a very stylish shift.
80 min: Vitinha dribbles at Hummels but can’t get past. A brilliant block tackle that sets Dortmund off on the counter. Brandt loops a cross from the left. Nuno Mendes, who hasn’t had a good night, misjudges the flight and lets the ball drop over his head. Sabitzer should chest down and shoot, but doesn’t anticipate the error and the chance is gone. Then PSG break. Hakimi romps into acres down the right. He cuts back for Dembele, who races into the box down the middle to meet the ball. He’s got to score, but leans back and sends a wild effort screeching over the bar. PSG should be level.
79 min: Fabián Ruiz crosses from the left. Ryerson blocks. Corner. It’s worked back to Nuno Mendes, who attempts to release Dembele with a floated ball down the left channel, but gets too much on it. Goal kick.
77 min: Both teams look a little punch drunk now. But still they push on. They’ve given everything. This hasn’t been a 1-0 game. It just hasn’t been.
75 min: Sancho has Nuno Mendes on toast. He turns his man in and out down the right, before his goalbound shot is deflected, the sting removed. Easy for Donnarumma.
74 min: Nuno Mendes requires some treatment after having his foot accidentally trodden on by Schlotterbeck. He’s up and running again soon enough, though.
72 min: Mbappe scoops a cute pass down the inside-left channel, between two defenders, to release Dembele into the box. Dembele shoots low and hard, across Kobel, but the keeper sticks out a strong arm to deflect the ball into the air. Maatsen completes the job by heading clear. PSG so close again!
71 min: Sancho sits Nuno Mendes down with a dribble and dragback down the right. He reaches the byline but can’t tee anyone up for a shot. You can feel the anticipation rising every time he gets the ball.
70 min: The pace of the game drops for the first time in a long while. But other chances are surely not long in coming.
68 min: Just the one goal, yet this has been every inch as entertaining as last night’s match in Munich. Speaking of which, here’s Julian Menz: “I spent six great years in Duesseldorf. Unfortunately, Fortuna are a club with the Reverse Midas Touch. Dortmund might be a local ’rival’ (we wish), but I know all the football fans gathered in the Altstadt will be supporting them. Not to mention the fact that Bayern are less than loved in Germany.”
66 min: Fullkrug isn’t letting that miss put him off, and now he Keith Houchens a left-wing cross inches over the bar. On another night, he could easily have bagged a hat-trick.
65 min: Edin Terzic is beyond livid, and you can’t blame him. Another glorious success for PGMOL’s finest! Meanwhile Randal Kolo Muani comes on for Bradley Barcola.
63 min: One simple blooter down the middle of the park. Adeyemi can’t get the better of Hakimi. But Dortmund come again, Brandt crossing from the left. Fullkrug waits to batter a header home at the far post … only to be nudged by Nuno Mendes and sent off balance. Two hands in the small of the back. It’s surely a penalty, but referee Anthony Taylor shows no interest, and neither do his PGMOL buddies. An absurd non-decision.
62 min: Sancho is absolutely everywhere. He’s been magnificent tonight. Oh Manchester, so much to answer for.
60 min: Dortmund miss two big chances in short order. First Brandt drags a shot wide left from 12 yards. Then Sancho dribbles electrically down the right and pulls back for Fullkrug, six yards out. Fullkrug has to score, but leans back and hoicks over. What a miss! As egregious as his first-half strike was delicious. In a parallel universe somewhere, it’s 3-3.
58 min: A shot of Mbappé grinning ruefully after that absurd woodwork-bothering double whammy. Penny for his thoughts. Penny for them too as Fullkrug has a whack from the edge of the D, the ball taking a ludicrous deflection off Marquinhos and only just missing the bottom left corner. Donnarumma out of the game completely. Nothing comes of the resulting corner.
56 min: Marquinhos crosses low from the right. Fabian Ruiz, ghosting in, somehow steers the ball wide right from six yards with only Kobel to beat. How on earth are PSG not level?!
55 min: Just before all of that nonsense, Vitinha dribbled down the middle only to run into hapless referee Anthony Taylor. The player wasn’t exactly shy in telling the official exactly how he saw it.
54 min: Mbappe shows just inside the Dortmund box on the left again. He swivels and whips a first-time shot towards the near post. Kobel claims with safe hands. PSG have taken it up a notch all right!
53 min: Fabian Ruiz is booked for a cynical check on Adeyemi.
51 min: PSG hit both posts in the space of seconds! Mbappe glides in from the left and curls an stunning shot across Kobel and off the inside of the right-hand post. The ball rolls across the face of goal but doesn’t spin in. Then some pinball, and Hakimi batters a shot off the base of the left-hand post … and that one whistles across the face of goal as well! PSG eventually clear their lines. Wow. The visitors so unfortunate!
50 min: Adeyemi chases after a long pass down the left at warp speed. He crosses deep for Sancho, who slips as he prepares to shoot. Sancho still recovers and forces a corner, but the real chance is gone. Nothing comes of the set piece.
48 min: Barcola cuts in from the left and takes a whack. Straight down Kobel’s throat. That’s PSG’s first serious effort on target.
47 min: Dembele drives hard down the PSG right. He wins a corner off a combination of Maatsen and Schlotterbeck. Nothing comes of it. Both teams in an attacking frame of mind.
46 min: Sancho is immediately in action down the right. He slips a pass down the wing for Ryerson, whose cross is easily cleared and the flag pops up for offside anyway. But there’s an early sign that Dortmund aren’t of a mind to settle for 1-0.
Dortmund get the second half underway. No changes.
Half-time entertainment. Tonight’s mid-match distraction comes courtesy of Jonathan Liew, who was in Munich last night to witness a mini-classic between two members of European royalty.
HALF TIME: Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Paris Saint-Germain
Niclas Füllkrug’s wonderful touch and strike is the difference as the teams make their way to the dressing rooms. It’s been great fun.
45 min +4: Maatsen drives down the left and draws a foul from Hakimi. Dortmund load the box. Brandt pulls the free kick back for Sabitzer, who mishits his shot, the ball ballooning softly towards Donnarumma. The keeper doesn’t catch cleanly, though, and for a second the loose ball is there to be contested, hanging in the air. Shades of Divock Origi versus Jordan Pickford in the Merseyside derby a few years back, but Donnarumma claims the ball at the second attempt with Fullkrug waving a leg hoping to prod home. That would have been a comic masterpiece.
45 min +2: PSG try hard to get something back before the break. Barcola closes down Kobel, who spins out of danger bravely and adroitly to clear. Then Dembele fizzes in a low cross from the right. There’s nobody in white near enough to poke home, and Ryerson swivels to bash away from the six-yard box. As defensive clearances go, it was a doozy.
45 min: With the ball loose from Sabitzer’s shot and Donnarumma’s block, Maatsen goes over in the vague environs of Marquinhos, who brushes his shirt with a high kick. There’s not much contact, but Dortmund want a penalty. They’re not getting one. VAR doesn’t take too long to make the decision, to be fair.
44 min: Taking receipt of a low left-wing cross, Fullkrug juggles the ball on the penalty spot and tees up Sabitzer, who creams a fierce shot goalwards from 12 yards. Donnarumma makes an outstanding point-blank block. Sabitzer should have made it two.
43 min: PSG have yet to have a shot on target, they’re one down, and they’ve lost one of their centre-backs. The team seem collectively down on themselves right now.
41 min: Lucas Hernández made a challenge on Füllkrug in a futile attempt to stop that goal. He’s jarred something while extending a leg across the striker, who wasn’t to be halted, and he goes down. Hernández won’t be able to continue, and trudges off sadly. Lucas Beraldo takes his place.
39 min: On TNT, co-commentator Ally McCoist reveals that Paul Lambert, who won the Champions League with Dortmund in 1997, has just texted him: “Get in ya beauty!”
37 min: That was an old-school goal all right. But what a pearler! The run timed perfectly to beat the offside trap as well. Exquisite.
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