The other Champions League semifinal, between Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-German, exploded to life late in the first half of Wednesday’s first leg.
Dortmund, as the home team and underdog, playing in front of its famed Yellow Wall, really needs to win. And it took a gigantic first step in the 36th minute. Niclas Füllkrug buried the game’s first goal to put BVB ahead.
DORTMUND STRIKE FIRST ⚡
Schlotterbeck sends a perfect ball over to the top 👌 Füllkrug makes no mistake 🎯 pic.twitter.com/GJ2jytxpbd
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) May 1, 2024
PSG, though, is still very much in this semifinal tie. It was favored — heavily in the two-leg matchup overall; and slightly on Wednesday, even away from home. It has the world’s best player, Kylian Mbappé, and a golden opportunity to get back to the Champions League final just as its megastar era comes to an end.
Mbappé, of course, is widely reported to be leaving at the end of the season to join Real Madrid. A major factor in his impending departure is PSG’s persistent failure in the Champions League. The Parisians have employed some combination of him, Neymar, Lionel Messi and a host of other stars since new Qatari owners began spending big in 2011, but they have only once reached a European final (in 2020, when they lost to Bayern Munich).
Entering this past winter, they had failed to progress past the Round of 16 in five of the last seven seasons. With Neymar and Messi gone, and Mbappé set to depart, their project seemed to be fizzling out.
But they dealt with Real Sociedad in the Round of 16. Last month, they roared back from a first-leg deficit to beat Barcelona in the quarterfinals. Mbappé’s two goals in the second half of the second leg sealed their place in the semis.
Dortmund, though, has proved a tricky challenge through 45 minutes. U.S. viewers can watch on CBS, Paramount+, Univision or TUDN. And you can follow along with Yahoo Sports below.
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Halftime
Borussia Dortmund is ahead, 1-0, and ascendant.
Still a long way to go, and a one-goal loss tonight wouldn’t be all that bad a result for PSG. But the Parisians need to recover, and make sure this doesn’t get worse.
Quite a goal from Füllkrug
Füllkrug’s technique here is incredible. Strikes straight through the ball with his weak foot. Keeps it low, skimming off the grass, flying inches off the ground past Donnarumma.
That, folks, is what soccer people call a “daisy cutter.”
And this is precisely why Füllkrug has risen to prominence in German football.
1-0 to Dortmund!
Niclas Füllkrug!
Dortmund leads.
The Signal Iduna Park is rocking.
Vitinha has been impressive
PSG’s metronome, defensive midfielder Vitinha, is helping the visitors gain some control here.
He’s so quick and clean on the ball. Spraying some passes. His positioning has also been great over the past 15 minutes.
PSG much more comfortable now than it was in the early exchanges.
A touching moment of solidarity from the PSG Ultras before kick off.
Dortmund fan Marcel passed away in January. So they just held up a banner saying Rest in Peace, Marcel. Met with applause from the entire Südtribüne. pic.twitter.com/UoY5hnAwHA
Dortmund’s first real chance of the game — a close-range, bad-angle shot from Niclas Füllkrug, saved by Gianluigi Donnarumma — is a pretty good representation of how they’ll win this game, if they win it.
Won a duel at midfield. Julian Brandt, their creator, picked up a loose-ish ball. And almost immediately, even without overwhelming numbers getting forward, the break was on.
Dortmund on the front foot early
No real chances through 10 minutes, but Dortmund’s press has been aggressive and effective.
Karim Adeyemi, an energizer bunny of a winger, has been lively down the left.
PSG looks relatively comfortable, though. Ousmane Dembélé gets the first shot of the game, from 25 yards out, and drags it well wide.
Underway!
What an atmosphere. What an occasion. Flags waving, songs ringing.
All of this is why we love this sport.
Dortmund and PSG are unchanged from their #UCL quarterfinal 👀
Thierry Henry breaks down what that means for their 1st leg semifinal clash 🍿 pic.twitter.com/4Epntp29ln
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) May 1, 2024
This matchup, in many ways, is talent vs. aura, atmosphere and history.
PSG has never won a Champions League or European Cup. It has never won a game of any kind at Borussia Dortmund — whose home-field advantage is one of the most vaunted in Europe.
But, on paper and in practice, PSG is a better team. Mbappé will be by far the best player on the field.
We’ll see which side of the contrast carries the day.
PSG-Dortmund lineups are in
PSG XI v Dortmund: Donnarumma – Hakimi, Marquinhos, Hernandez, Nuno Mendes – Zaïre-Emery, Vitinha, Fabian Ruiz – Dembélé, Mbappé, Barcola.
