In the semi-finals of the Champions League, Borussia won by a minimum score against PSG

Dortmund “Borussia” UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg at home 1:0 beat Paris Saint Germain football players.

Interesting facts after the match:

• Luis Enrique became the third Spanish manager to reach the semi-finals of the Champions League with a foreign team (Rafa Benitez 3 times with Liverpool, Pep Guardiola 6 times with Bayern and 3 times with Manchester City).

• Jadon Sancho completed seven first-half dribbles, more than he managed in one game for Manchester United and the most in a Champions League play-off since John Stones in last season’s final.

• PSG have shaken the opposition’s goal structure 10 times this Champions League season. Only Barcelona managed to do it more times in the 2011/2012 season – 11.

• The second leg of the semi-final stage between Borussia and PSG will be played in France on May 7.

“Borussia” footballers started the match more actively, controlled the ball more often, but did not manage to create a greater danger at the opponent’s goal. Soon after, Ousmane Dembele had several long-range shots but failed to score. Niclas Fullkrug disarmed the goalkeeper with an excellent shot in the 36th minute and put the “Borussia” team ahead 1:0. Lucas Hernandez could not continue the performance at the end of the first half due to an injury and left the field, and Lucas Beraldo appeared in his place in the match.

PSG missed great opportunities to equalize at the start of the second half. Shots by Kylian Mbappe and Achraf Hakimi shook the structure of the opponent’s goal. Meanwhile, Marquinhos’ header went wide. After an hour of play, N. Fullkrug received a great pass from Jadon Sancho and made a shot, but the ball flew over the crossbar. O. Dembele made a shot with the first touch in the 80th minute, but the ball flew over the opponent’s goal. During the rest of the time, none of the teams managed to score.

Interesting facts before the match:

• Borussia and PSG have already met this season in the deadly Group F. The meeting in Germany ended in a 1-1 draw, while in France PSG won 2-0.

• Borussia have lost just one of their eight previous UEFA semi-final home matches (5 wins and 2 draws).

• The PSG club secured the French Ligue 1 title for the 10th time in 13 years a few days ago.

Coaches’ comments:

Edinas Terzicius, head coach of the Borussia team:

“In the group stage, we saw a completely different match against the PSG team at the home stadium. They were very open, we were a little closer to victory. PSG are in their best form at the moment, so we will have to put in an even better performance than we did then. We are confident that we will show that we have improved. I think every opponent tries to stop Kylian Mbappe, but it doesn’t always work. We have to prepare for everything.”

Luis Enrique, head coach of the PSG team:

“The best feeling is when you are a player or a coach and you see that your work makes people happy. Nothing can be better than that. You can’t buy that feeling. Now we have to deal with the semi-finals and try to get to the Champions League final.”