No Love for PSG in Paris

Kylian Mbappe failed to end his career at PSG with a Champions League title. After 11 years, Dortmund returned to Wembley.

AP PHOTO/CHRISTOPHE ENA

Paris Saint-Germain striker Kylian Mbappe looked downcast after PSG failed to make it to the Champions League final on Wednesday (8/5/2024) early morning local time. PSG lost 0-2 on aggregate to Borussia Dortmund after being defeated 0-1 in the second semifinal match.

PARIS, WEDNESDAY — Paris is synonymous with the city of love. Many fictional romance stories take place in the French capital. However, this romantic nuance does not favor one of the city's icons, namely Paris Saint-Germain. In Paris, PSG's dream of lifting the Champions League trophy came to an end.

Ambitious to avenge the aggregate lag behind Borussia Dortmund, PSG was still unable to overcome the German team's solid defensive wall in the second game of the Champions League semifinals, Wednesday (8/5/2024) early morning WIB, at the Parc des Princes Stadium. ”Les Parisiens” fell again 0-1 thanks to a header from Dortmund senior defender, Mats Hummels, from a corner kick in the 50th minute.

This result made PSG lose 0-2 on aggregate. They again failed to win the "Big Ear" trophy with France's current best star, Kylian Mbappe. For Mbappe, his failure to help PSG was a less than ideal farewell ahead of his departure at the end of this season.

Also read: PSG in Top 16 Curse Terror

Even though they were disappointed they failed to make it to Wembley Stadium, London, the 14 PSG players fielded by Coach Luis Enrique have given their best. From the first minute, they had control of the match. A total of 70 percent ball possession with 659 passes is clear proof that PSG has a strong desire to win.

In addition, PSG fired 30 shots which is their highest record in this season's Champions League. Out of those shots, five were aimed at the goalpost, then two were blocked by the crossbar and the other two hit the posts.

AP PHOTO/FRANK AUGSTEIN

Dortmund defender Mats Hummels (right) scored a goal against PSG in the second semifinal match of the Champions League at the Parc des Princes Stadium in Paris on Wednesday (8/5/2024) early morning. Dortmund won 1-0.

This proves that Paris does not give its love to PSG. Four shots in the second half were stopped by the posts and crossbar. Shots from Warren Zaire-Emery and Nuno Mendes hit the left post of Dortmund's goal, guarded by Gregor Kobel. Then, attempts from Mbappe and Vitinha were blocked by the crossbar.

The number of shots blocked by the goalkeeping device exceeded that experienced by the Les Parisiens squad at Borussia Dortmund's home ground, Signal Iduna Park, last week. When they fell in Germany, shots from Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele hit the goalpost.

You win games by scoring goals, not hitting the post. Football can be very unfair sometimes.

"To be honest, we deserve to win the match. We created 31 shots, hit the post four times. In two games, we hit the post six times, but we failed to score a goal," Enrique said to TNT Sports.

Also read: One ​​Fullkrug Goal, Two Advantages for Borussia Dortmund

”You win matches by scoring goals, not hitting the post. Football is sometimes very unfair," he added.

Marco Reus, Dortmund midfielder, stated that his team could cope well with the challenges posed by PSG players. In the second match, Reus named two of his former teammates, Dembele and Achraf Hakimi, as players who caused trouble for "Die Borussen" thanks to their speed.

AP PHOTO/LEWIS JOLY

Dortmund midfielder, Marco Reus (right), is vying for the ball with PSG striker, Ousmane Dembele, in the second semifinal match of the Champions League, Wednesday (8/5/2024) early morning WIB.

"How we win, no one will ask about it tomorrow. Hitting the bar won't have any impact tomorrow either. What counts is Borussia Dortmund playing in the final again. After more than 10 years, I am in the final again with Borussia," said Reus, who will leave Dortmund at the end of this season, to DAZN.

Collective work

In contrast to the first match which featured brilliant individual actions, Dortmund no longer repeats its reliance on the single ability of its mainstay players. Dortmund coach Edin Terzic prepared a playing system so that all his players work collectively in attack and defense.

The goal scored by Hummels shows that even the back of the player has a role in scoring goals. Then, notes on the accumulation of three sweeps from the front players, Julian Brandt and Niclas Fuellkrug, as well as one interception each from two wing strikers, Jadon Sancho and Karim Adeyemi, prove that defensive tasks are not solely owned by the back players.

Also read: Eliminate Atletico, Dortmund Ready to "Rematch" Against PSG in the Champions League Semifinals

Reus, who came on in the 56th minute to replace Adeyemi, stood out more in presenting defensive actions. The 34-year-old player failed to produce a single shot to help Die Borussen widen their lead in Paris. Instead, Reus was able to produce one successful tackle and three clearances in his team's defensive zone.

"I scored too few goals in the Champions League throughout my career, only five goals. Now is the right time to increase that number," said Hummels, who is the last remaining Dortmund player with Reus when they played in the 2012-2013 Champions League final, as reported by the UEFA website.

AP PHOTO/FRANK AUGSTEIN

Dortmund defender, Mats Hummels (left), celebrates a goal against PSG in the second leg of the Champions League semi-finals, early on the morning of Wednesday (8/5/2024) WIB.

"He added, 'We were able to play actively. We handled their speed and the atmosphere inside the stadium well. That is our recipe for success,' he said."

Third trainer

Meanwhile, Terzic became the third coach who managed to take Dortmund to the Champions League final. He matched Ottmar Hitzfeld's record in 1996-1997 and Juergen Klopp in the 2012-2013 edition.

In the two previous appearances in the finals, Dortmund only emerged as winners once. They defeated Juventus 3-1 at the Olympiade Stadium in Munich, Germany, in May 1997. Then, Die Borussen fell 1-2 to Bayern Munich at Wembley Stadium in May 2013.

Terzic praised the collective performance of all his players. In addition to winning, Terzic targeted his team to record their sixth clean sheet in the Champions League this season in the second match against PSG.

"This is an extraordinary team performance. Without it, you wouldn't have a chance to finish the match without conceding a goal, it's impossible. In the second half, we played to avoid conceding by doing everything to block their crosses and shots," said Terzic.

AP PHOTO/FRANK AUGSTEIN

Dortmund Coach Edin Terzic gave appreciation to the supporters after the second leg of the Champions League semifinals against PSG on Wednesday (May 8, 2024) early morning in WIB.

In the upcoming final at Wembley on June 2nd, Dortmund will face the winner of the duel between Bayern and Real Madrid. Terzic admits that both of those teams will be more favored compared to his team.

“Regardless of which team we face, it will be a very tough match. However, the final is only one game, so anything can happen," he said.