UCL: Dortmund does not have a Mbappé and does not need one

DORTMUND, Germany — Borussia Dortmund doesn’t need a star to shine.

They don’t have Vinícius Júnior, Harry Kane or Kylian Mbappé (the talismans of this year’s other Champions League semi-finalists), but they use the players they have effectively. Now, seemingly against all odds, they are within sight of the final.

A 1-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain in Dortmund on Wednesday means that if BVB can avoid defeat in Paris next week in the second leg, they will face either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich at Wembley in the Champions League final.

If they get there, they will be the underdogs again. But they faced Atlético Madrid in the last round and not many classified them in a group that also included Newcastle United, AC Milan and PSG. Yet here they are, 90 minutes away from having the unlikely chance to be crowned European champions.

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Mats Hummels was named Man of the Match and Jadon Sancho was exceptional, but as if to clarify what is driving Borussia Dortmund’s Champions League run, coach Edin Terzic was more interested in praising the collective quality and spirit his team had. players. shown.

“It was a well-deserved victory, a good performance by the team,” he said. “We could have scored more goals, but so could they. That’s why, from my point of view, the result is good. We ran a lot, but in a game like this it is necessary. You have to earn your way to Wembley.

“The only thing we need now is a draw in the second leg, but we also want to win next week. We have a small advantage and a good chance.”

While PSG has accumulated star after star under the ownership of Qatar Sports Investments, Borussia Dortmund has become accustomed to having its best players taken away.

Jude Bellingham, Erling Haaland, Robert Lewandowski, Christian Pulisic, Ilkay Gündogan, Manuel Akanji and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang have, at different times, done bigger and better things. Ousmane Dembélé is now at PSG thanks to a €135 million transfer to Barcelona from Dortmund in 2017.

The exit door at Signal Iduna Park has been opened again and again, but that has not stopped Terzic from building a team that, as PSG discovered, is greater than the sum of its parts. BVB’s goal here was scored by Niclas Füllkrug, a 31-year-old journeyman striker signed in the summer for 15 million euros from Werder Bremen.

The pass that Fullkrug took expertly and crashed low into the net midway through the first half was delivered by defender Nico Schlotterbeck, signed for €20 million from Freiburg in 2022.

There were impressive midfield performances from Emre Can, back in Germany after spells at Liverpool and Juventus, and Marcel Sabitzer, deemed not good enough for either Bayern Munich or Manchester United last summer.

Veteran defender Hummels, back in Dortmund after being lured to Bayern in 2016, looked calm and intelligent in the face of Mbappé’s rapid pace and movements. Ian Maatsen, who joined on loan from Chelsea in January after spells in England’s lower leagues with Charlton Athletic, Coventry City and Burnley, was solid at left-back.

Sancho also returned in January, having been forced to leave Manchester United following his public dispute with manager Erik ten Hag.

What must Ten Hag be thinking after watching the winger terrorize PSG with 12 successful attacks, the most in a Champions League semi-final since Lionel Messi in 2008? Would Fullkrug have taken a golden opportunity in the second half after Sancho had danced his way through? If the bottom line and cut the ball, Dortmund would head to France with an even bigger advantage.

PSG also had its moments and scored twice on the inside of the post through Mbappé and then Achraf Hakimi. Mbappé had a quiet night, but he was still able to make the 88,000 feverish home fans hold their breath every time he collected the ball close to the goal.

At the final whistle, the Dortmund players applauded and danced in front of the “Yellow Wall”, which began making a deafening noise more than an hour before kick-off and did not stop.

Every touch from PSG was met with deafening whistles, and every tackle and pass from a player clad in yellow was met with a roar of approval loud enough to make the stadium feel like it was shaking at its foundations. When the result was finally confirmed after four minutes of added time, the roof almost rose into the spring sky.

It is perhaps no surprise that Dortmund have not lost any of their last 11 Champions League home games, a streak surpassed only by Manchester City, Bayern Munich and Real Madrid.

“Everyone knew this was not going to be easy, it’s the Champions League semi-final,” said PSG coach Luis Enrique. “We must recognize that this is an exceptional stadium, with fans that know how to support their team. The locker room is a bit depressed, especially after two shots hit the post. That’s football. Sometimes it’s wonderful, and other times , that’s how it is”. goes.”

PSG overturned a first-leg deficit against Barcelona in the last round and beat Dortmund 2-0 at home in the group stage in September.

It will be enough to give Enrique hope that a place in the final is still up for grabs, and with Mbappé anything is possible. But the Dortmund team, full of ignored and underestimated players, has placed itself in pole position. Win or draw in Paris, and their history of losers will take them to Wembley.