Borussia Dortmund stunned Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal on Wednesday, thanks to a brilliant goal from Niclas Füllkrug.
Dortmund, roared on by a raucous home crowd, started brightly and maintained their intensity throughout the match. In the 36th minute, defender Nico Schlotterbeck sent a long pass over the top for Füllkrug, who controlled it with his first touch and fired it past PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma with his next.
The goal gave Dortmund a narrow advantage heading into the second leg in Paris next Tuesday, where the French champions will need to overturn the result to keep their hopes of winning the Champions League alive.
PSG, under pressure to finally win the competition after years of heavy investment, started slowly and struggled to create clear-cut chances. They pushed hardest early in the second half, with Kylian Mbappé hitting the right post and Achraf Hakimi striking the left post. However, Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel made several crucial saves to keep his team in the lead.
Füllkrug missed further good chances for Dortmund, while Marquinhos made a crucial block to deny Julian Brandt late on.
“It would have been nice if we could have made our counterattacks count to get a second goal at the end,” said Dortmund veteran Mats Hummels. “But now we have to come through in Paris.”
PSG coach Luis Enrique admitted his team lacked intensity in the first half but created clear chances in the second. “We couldn’t score,” he said. “But we still have a chance in the second leg.”
Dortmund coach Edin Terzić praised his team’s performance and said they would need to be even better in Paris. “We played with a lot of heart and passion,” he said. “We defended well and took our chance when it came. We know it will be difficult in Paris, but we believe we can get the result we need.”
The winner of the two-leg tie will play either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich in the final in London on June 1.
