Charles Jackson
The UEFA Champions League semi-final tie between Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund is proceeding in much the same way as the 2019-20 round of 16, which saw the Germans lead after the first leg at Signal Iduna Park, only to be undone on Monday. . The Bundesliga side won 1-0 on Wednesday to take a slender lead ahead of the second leg at the Parc des Princes next week, but Edin Terzic’s side may feel they should have taken more of their chances, and This is exactly how Luis Enrique will feel about the French Champions.
Dortmund emerged victorious, but somehow they should have won by more than one goal, but they can also feel fortunate not to have conceded to Paris at the same time, after a game that was decided by Niclas Fullkrug’s burst of power and finishing. . The focal point of the Germans’ attack missed some excellent chances throughout the 90 minutes, despite some impressive service from the likes of Jadon Sancho and Julian Brandt, while there was also a second-half penalty that was begging.
However, it was PSG who arguably created and missed the choice of chances, with Kylian Mbappe and Achraf Hakimi each hitting the post within 30 seconds of each other, Fabian Ruiz wasting a particularly good headed opportunity and Ousmane Dembele shining at the end of the game. . Luis Enrique’s decision to move Mbappe back out after a more central starting position worked in terms of involving the PSG star more in the second half than the first, but it wasn’t enough to evoke the draw that would have been undeniably deserved.
“We are two teams that like to advance and have the ball,” said PSG captain Marquinhos after the game. “We both like to press and we want the ball. It was a physical test and we had a lot of opportunities due to the result. We cannot waste these clear opportunities, especially those in the second half. We must take advantage of our opportunities at home if we want to reach the final with 1 to 0, we’ve done it before and we’ve shown that we can do it with the energy of our fans at home. It will be a different scenario and we know we can do better than we did here.”
Returning to the Parc des Princes with just one goal to spare in next week’s second leg will seem far from impossible for the Parisians given their powers of recovery which were on full display against Barcelona in the quarter-finals, but the opposite is now needed . Rather than a narrow home defeat and a convincing away victory, PSG need to follow up the Dortmund defeat with a full and complete second leg at home in front of their own fans.
Luis Enrique’s team silenced the Yellow Wall at times due to nervousness and that spoke volumes about how close the French team came to tying things up over the course of the 45 seconds, which left Dortmund feeling like they really needed a second goal to feel more confident. Lucas Hernandez’s forced substitution was a blow for Paris, but defensive solidity will be less needed next week as PSG go for the jugular at home in a similar manner to Barça’s knockout turnaround.
Expect Luis Enrique to adjust his attacking approach slightly before then, with Mbappe’s positioning and involvement much better in the second half and Dembele needing a slightly more clinical edge in front of goal. Randal Kolo Muani’s cameo was interesting in terms of work rate, but it could be Gonçalo Ramos’ predatory touch that makes the difference next week, depending on Paris’ approach to the scenario that still favors PSG – almost.
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Gianluigi Donnarumma and Marquinhos made important saves, blocks and interventions while the midfield worked and created enough, even if some touches and passes were slightly wrong in the final third or when trying to hold the ball and move it. It was in attack that some adjustment was felt to be necessary to turn things around and, if that happens as expected, then it is more likely than not that Mappe and his team-mates will head to Wembley for the final against Real Madrid or Bayern Munich.
