Clumsy, PSG lost this Wednesday against Borussia Dortmund (1-0), in the semi-final first leg of the Champions League. We will have to turn everything around at the Parc des Princes (May 7 on RMC Sport) to reach the final.
The dream of a final at Wembley on June 1, against Real Madrid or Bayern Munich, is still far away for the Parisians. Beaten this Wednesday on the pitch of Borussia Dortmund (1-0) in the semi-final first leg of the Champions League, PSG will have to turn everything around in less than a week, on the return, in their garden at the Parc des Princes (Tuesday 7 May on RMC Sport). The most optimistic will remember that their club had already conceded in the quarter-final first leg against Barça, before sublimating themselves in Catalonia.
>> Relive Dortmund-PSG (1-0)
A little less than five months after obtaining a draw (1-1) synonymous with qualification for the eighth, Paris therefore had another meeting in the hell of Signal Iduna Park. With its Yellow Wall still intimidating, its frenzied supporters and its decibel records. It was in this hostile atmosphere to say the least, but still supported by 3,800 Parisian supporters, that the visitors timidly attacked this poster, hampered by the opposing conservation sequences and a very early Niclas Füllkrug who was interesting with his fixation game. We had to pass the first ten minutes to see the leather change sides and the BvB start to retreat.
>> Subscribe to RMC Sport offers to watch the Champions League
No doubt out of pragmatism and fear of leaving too much space for the Ousmane Dembélé-Kylian Mbappé-Bradley Barcola trio, Dortmund relaxed their pressing, allowing PSG to gain the upper hand on a technical level and monopolize the ball. Without doing much about it. Gregor Kobel found himself unemployed in the first period, while Gianluigi Donnarumma quickly had to work in front of Marcel Sabitzer (14th), then Marquinhos sacrificed himself to repel with his head a mine from Julian Brandt following a festival by Jadon Sancho (28th). Dominant but harmless, and not helped either by a Nuno Mendes overwhelmed in his left lane, PSG ended up being surprised by a long ball from Nico Schlotterbeck and a luminous sequence from Niclas Füllkrug: control of the right foot and dry strike from left to adjust Donnarumma (35th).
The double post of Mbappé and Hakimi
A blow behind the Parisians’ heads, and a second in the process with the exit due to injury of Lucas Hernandez, injured in the knee during this action and replaced by Lucas Beraldo. Perhaps not flawless on the opening score (“The shot is powerful but it takes a long time to go to the ground”, according to our consultant Emmanuel Petit), Donnarumma recovered well before the break to repel a volley close range from Sabitzer (43rd). Focused at the end of the season towards the objective of a historic quadruple, PSG radically changed its face upon returning from the locker room. By putting a lot more pressure and determination. Until then discreet, Barcola showed the way for the first Parisian shot on target (48th), before witnessing an incredible double opportunity. In the same minute, Kobel’s uprights repelled attempts by Mbappé and Achraf Hakimi (52nd)!
Fabian Ruiz narrowly missed with a header when he surprised the German defense (57th). Suffering, the 5th in the Bundesliga, spanked last weekend by RB Leipzig (4-1), raised its head after the hour mark. Largely thanks to the untenable Füllkrug. Constant poison by his calls and his play with his back to goal, the former Werder thought he had scored a double after being forgotten in the area (58th), before sending a header just over the bar. Donnarumma (66th). In this incessant ping-pong, with opportunities on both sides, Randal Kolo Muani has not improved his popularity among supporters, the fault of too much waste. Dembélé may also blame himself after a huge opportunity taken (81st), just before Marquinhos saved his team with an exceptional tackle (84th). Opposite, the absence of Gonçalo Ramos, who remained on the bench despite his very good form displayed in 2024, should fuel some debates in the coming days.
