UCL Semifinal: Fullkrug gives Dortmund slim lead

A ball over the defence, plus good control and a rasping drive from Niclas Füllkrug in the first half, was all Borussia Dortmund needed on Wednesday night at a packed Signal Iduna Park to get the better of history-chasing PSG in the second semifinal of the 2023/24 UEFA Champions League.

The 1997 champions were better from the off, as Luis Enrique named the same front three that scored four against Barcelona in the last round. Kylian Mbappé played through the centre, supported by Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembélé.

The first big chance came in the 14th minute when Jadon Sancho dispossessed Nuno Mendes and fed Marcel Sabitzer, who had run into the PSG box, but Gianluigi Donnarumma spread himself wide enough to block the shot. That action heightened the intensity, and Warren Warren Zaire-Emery was fouled by Ian Maatsen, resulting in the first yellow card being shown.

Marquinhos got his head in the way of a goal-bound shot from Julian Brandt as the first half wore on, and Dortmund asserted their dominance. They soon got their due when a lobbed pass by Nico Schlotterbeck found Fullkrug in an onside position. The German international executed a perfect control before a controlled drive beat Donnarumma for the first goal.

PSG centre-back Lucas Hernández also got injured as he tried to stop Fullkrug, and he had to be replaced by Lucas Beraldo in the 42nd minute. Donnarumma kept his team in the game with an excellent save from Marcel Sabitzer’s shot just before halftime.

The second half saw a more determined PSG team, and they should have levelled the encounter in the 51st minute, but for the two posts. First, it was Mbappe’s curled effort that came off the inside of Gregor Kobel’s left post, and the rebound from Achraf Hakimi hit Kobel’s right post and rebounded out to safety.

Fabian Ruiz missed a sitter in the 58th minute as he flashed his header wide from just inside the six-yard box. It was harder to miss the target. Dortmund had a penalty shout when Fullkrug seemed knocked off his stride as he rose to connect a header in the box. On 65 minutes, Enrique sent on Randal Kolo Muani for Barcola.

Mbappe found Dembele with a cute lofted pass, but Kobel made another save. Vitinho found Dembele in the box in the 80th minute, and the former Dortmund forward fired over the bar when he should at least have worked Kobel. The game opened up as both teams chased goals, with the encounter looking more like a basketball match.

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Sancho then nutmegged Beraldo with a pass, but Brandt took one touch too many, which allowed Marquinhos to put in a goal-saving block.

Half-time in this match, and the underdogs Dortmund have the lead, heading to Paris, where they have never scored against PSG. It could be another humdinger.

Before the match kicked off, PSG manager Enrique was happy his team was still in the hunt for a quadruple of trophies. Enrique said, “We have gradually improved our performance levels, and now there is one month left until the end of the season, and we are alive in every competition.”

They must be more clinical in the second leg next Tuesday at Parc de Princes to continue to live the dream.