UCL: Dortmund edge PSG in close first leg clash

Borussia Dortmund have one leg in the final of the UEFA Champions League (UCL), after a 1-0 semi-final victory over Paris Saint Germain (PSG) at Signal Iduna Park on Wednesday.

Dortmund displayed early dominance against Luis Enrique’s side and eventually got a deserved lead in the 36th minute when Niclas Füllkrug leveraged Nico Schlotterbeck’s superb pass to send a clinical past Gianluigi Donnarumma.

After failing to fire a shot on target in the first half, PSG resumed the second half stronger, with Kylian Mbappe and Achraf Hakimi both denied by the opposition’s woodwork.

Perhaps, Dortmund’s brightest player on the pitch was Manchester United loaneee—Jadon Sancho—who was a constant thorn in the flesh of the Parisians. The Englishman was quite unlucky not to have registered an assist after completing about 10 take-ons — the most by any player in a UCL semi-final in the past eight seasons.

Jadon Sancho is the only player across the past eight seasons to complete 10+ take-ons in a Champions League semi-final match. 🤯 https://t.co/SksrNt9hfw

— Squawka (@Squawka) May 1, 2024

Solid goalkeeping and defensive efforts kept the scoreline unchanged until the final whistle, as Dortmund held onto the slender lead ahead of the second leg in Paris for what promises to be another captivating clash.