PARIS (AP) — The raucous cheers of Borussia Dortmund’s travelling fans echoed through the Parc des Princes as their beloved team secured a historic 1-0 victory (2-0 on aggregate) over Paris Saint-Germain, punching their ticket to the Champions League final at Wembley Stadium on June 1st.
For the star-studded PSG and their talismanic striker Kylian Mbappé, it was a night of bitter disappointment, as the French giants’ insatiable pursuit of Champions League glory was once again left unfulfilled.
The decisive blow was delivered in the 50th minute by Dortmund’s veteran defender Mats Hummels.
Rising highest to meet Julian Brandt’s inviting corner from the left flank, the 34-year-old powerfully headed home, leaving PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma rooted to the spot.
Hummels’ strike was a just reward for Dortmund’s composed and disciplined display. Marshalled by the indomitable Emre Can in midfield, Edin Terzić’s side successfully shackled the threat posed by Mbappé and his fellow attackers, limiting PSG’s opportunities in the final third.
But the home side refused to go down without a fight, mounting a late onslaught in pursuit of an equalizer.
Mbappé came agonizingly close on two occasions, first seeing his low drive parried away by the outstanding Gregor Kobel before the Dortmund goalkeeper produced a stunning one-handed save to tip the Frenchman’s deflected effort onto the crossbar.
The woodwork also denied PSG’s Vitinha, whose thunderous strike from a distance left the Parc des Princes crowd gasping in disbelief as the ball cannoned back off the underside of the bar.
As the final whistle sounded, scenes of unbridled joy erupted among the Dortmund players and their traveling supporters. Donning t-shirts emblazoned with “London 24” – a reference to their date with destiny at Wembley – they reveled in a momentous triumph.
For Mbappé, however, the night marked a bittersweet farewell to the Champions League in PSG colors.
Widely expected to depart the club at the end of the season, likely joining Real Madrid, the 24-year-old cut a dejected figure as he trudged off the field, his hopes of delivering PSG’s maiden Champions League crown dashed once again.
“Extremely proud. I’m very happy,” beamed Dortmund coach Terzić. “We beat a team like PSG two times and we again kept a clean sheet. We started really well and kept them away from the goal.”
Dortmund, winners of the competition in 1997, will face either Real Madrid or Bayern Munich in the final as they seek to add a second Champions League trophy to their illustrious history.
“Indescribable. After more than 10 years, I am in the final with Borussia again,” said Marco Reus, Dortmund’s long-serving midfielder, who will depart the club after this season.
For PSG and their Qatari owners, it was yet another season ending in heartbreak, as their relentless pursuit of European glory continues to elude them, despite the vast sums of money invested in assembling a star-studded squad.
“Efficiency, that’s what we were missing,” rued PSG captain Marquinhos. “We should have defended better. They scored from a corner and a counter-attack (in the first leg). We created more chances but they won both games.”
Moments before Hummels’ decisive header, PSG had a golden opportunity to seize the initiative when Gonçalo Ramos flicked on Mbappé’s inviting cross from the left, only for Warren Zaïre-Emery to inexplicably hit the post from point-blank range.
It was a costly miss that ultimately proved decisive, as Dortmund’s well-drilled defensive unit, led by the imperious Hummels and Niklas Süle, successfully nullified the threat posed by Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé.
The French duo, so often PSG’s talismanic match-winners, were largely peripheral figures, starved of space and time on the ball by Dortmund’s disciplined pressing and positional discipline.
As the celebrations continued on the Parc des Princes turf, a despondent Mbappé cut a lonely figure, trudging off the field for the last time in a Champions League game wearing the PSG jersey, his future almost certainly lies elsewhere.
For PSG and their ambitious owners, the quest for European supremacy must go on, but for Dortmund, the road to Wembley beckons, where they will have the opportunity to etch their names into the annals of Champions League history.
