Bundesliga club Borussia Dortmund secured a narrow 1-0 victory over Ligue 1 champions Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in the first leg of the UEFA Champions League semi-final at Signal Iduna Park on Wednesday evening (May 1). Many expected PSG star Kylian Mbappe to steal the show in front of the Yellow Wall, but it was Manchester United loanee Jadon Sancho who stole the cake.
Borussia Dortmund wins an important victory in the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League
Edin Terzic’s Borussia Dortmund failed to win the Bundesliga title. They currently sit in fifth place after 31 games and are five points away from Champions League qualification with just three games to go. To secure their place in the UEFA Champions League next season, they need to win it this time. And much to the surprise of football fans around the world, they seem to be up to the task. After a comeback win over Atlético Madrid in the quarter-finals, Dortmund picked up another win against heavyweights PSG in the first leg of the semi-finals.
Both teams started the game well. In the 11th minute, Ousmane Dembele hit his right foot and shot from deep. He caught the ball well, but the shot lacked precision as it went past Gregor Kobel’s post. Three minutes later, Sancho ripped the ball from Nuno Mendes and passed it on to Julian Brandt. The midfielder recognized Marcel Sabitzer’s run and caught him with a perfectly weighted pass. Sabitzer tried to score from a tight angle, but Gianluigi Donnarumma was equal to him.
In the 36th minute, Niclas Fullkrug sent the Dortmund fans into a frenzy when he put the hosts in the lead with a rocketing shot. The center forward gracefully brought down Nico Schlotterbeck’s long ball from a distance, went past his opponent and put the ball at the near post with a powerful finish. PSG seemed unable to equalize as the first half progressed, but they had more than enough chances in the second 45 minutes.
Mbappe and Achraf Hakimi hit the post in quick succession in the 51st minute, while Fabian Ruiz failed to get his shots on target several times. Dortmund also had a few good chances, but their finishing wasn’t quite up to scratch either.
Manchester United outcast Jadon Sancho shines against PSG
Sancho, who joined Borussia Dortmund on loan in January after falling out with Erik ten Hag at Manchester United, was the standout performer against PSG in the UEFA Champions League semi-final first leg. He glided past the defenders as if they weren’t even there, didn’t hog the ball, combined flawlessly with his teammates and created numerous scoring opportunities.
In the 1990s, Sancho completed 51 passes with 88% accuracy, created three chances and completed a whopping 13 dribbles – more than any other player in the competition that season. He also won a game-high 14 floor duels and grabbed seven rebounds.