Borussia Dortmund defeated Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 this Tuesday in the second leg of the Champions League semi-finals (same result as in the first leg) and qualified for the third final in its history in the top European competition.
With a header goal from a corner by the veteran central defender Mats Hummels (50), the Ruhr team led by Edin Terzic once again frustrated the Parisian dreams, personified in a somewhat successful Mbappé, and will fight on June 1 at Wembley to lift his second ‘Old Big Ears’ against the rival who will emerge victorious from Wednesday’s duel between Real Madrid and Bayern Munich (2-2 at the Allianz Arena).
“We are going to celebrate, it is a great thing to have been able to qualify for the final, but we want to achieve something even bigger and there is still a long way to go,” said the young German coach of Dortmund.
“Our opponent doesn’t matter, it will be a very difficult game, but only one game is left. And in one game everything is possible, we have shown it,” he predicted.
Sad goodbye for Mbappé
PSG, for its part, with Kylian Mbappé, who once again failed to be decisive, woke up from the dream and must now continue trying to win the long-awaited Champions League next season. Presumably, it was the French international striker’s last Champions League game with his current team.
“First of all, the feeling is sadness, as it could not be otherwise after not achieving the goal,” acknowledged Spanish Luis Enrique, the coach of PSG.
In an incandescent Parc des Princes, dressed for the occasion in their best clothes, with the fans previously paying tribute to the former Argentine PSG player Javier Pastore and two stadium displays featuring the image of the trophy and the entire Parisian squad surrounded by the laurels of victory, Luis Enrique’s men were not up to the task and showed more will than success.
With Bradley Barcola out of the eleven and an area forward like the Portuguese Goncalo Ramos, who moved Kylian Mbappé to the left side, PSG commanded possession. Still, the best opportunities went to the German side, such as a half-volley by Norwegian defender Julian Ryerson that crashed into the outside of the net (19) or a counterattack by Karim Adeyemi, whose shot with everything in its favor was met with a providential hand from the Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma (35).
Long shots from Vitinha (27, 42) and Fabián Ruiz (45) went wide, were deflected by the German defense or posed no problems for a confident Gregor Kobel between the posts.
Meanwhile, Mbappé, generous perhaps to a fault, was more dangerous passing than shooting. From his boots came the play that concluded with a powerful but deflected shot from Dembelé after half an hour.
The stick was decisive in the outcome
The locals had 45 minutes left to score two goals, but despite returning from the locker room with more energy -with a shot to the post by Warren Zaïre-Emery- they were soon shocked with a jug of cold water in the form of ‘Hummels’ goal, too isolated at the far post to finish off the center from the corner Julian Brandt.
¡¡GOL DEL DORTMUND!! ¡¡HUMMELS PARA EL 2-0 EN LA SERIE ANTE PSG!!
📺 Mirá la #UCL por #ESPNenStarPlus pic.twitter.com/Uvk3w7tLPt
— SportsCenter (@SC_ESPN) May 7, 2024
The Portuguese full-back Nuno Mendes also sent the ball to the post (61), and Vitinha also found the woodwork in the last minutes, as had already happened in the first leg at Signal Iduna Park in the attempts of Mbappé and Marquinhos.
With more drive than skill, PSG, already unleashed toward the opposing goal, multiplied the chances with a shot against the crossbar by Mbappé from the heart of the area (86). Still, the Germans’ organization was too much for an unlucky PSG that once again crashed into the wall of the Champions League, a competition that they have not yet conquered and that opens its arms to a Dortmund that is barely moving in fifth place in the Bundesliga.
Dortmund returns to the Champions League final for the first time since 2013, when, in a match also played at Wembley, the team then led by Jurgen Klopp fell to Bayern Munich, its biggest rival. Hummels played that game, and eleven years later, he became the team’s hero in Paris.
