PSG v Dortmund Takeways
Hummels the hero, Mbappe bows out and PSG are truly cursed.
By Patric Ridge
Borussia Dortmund are into the Champions League final.
Eleven years since Jurgen Klopp led BVB to Wembley, Edin Terzic has repeated the trick, with Dortmund into the showpiece match of Europe’s elite club competition for the third time in their history.
Mats Hummels was the hero, as his second-half header sealed a 1-0 victory over Paris Saint-Germain at the Parc des Princes, with the first semi-final tie settled 2-0 on aggregate.
While Dortmund look forward to a possible Klaskier against Bayern Munich in London — as was the case in 2013 — or a meeting with 14-time European champions Real Madrid, PSG will have to lick their wounds, as this famous trophy continues to evade their clutches.
Here, More Than A Game dives into three takeaways from Tuesday’s match.
LIKE A FINE WINE
Age is clearly just a number for Hummels, who has been outstanding for Dortmund this season.
At 35 years, 143 days, Hummels became the oldest German goalscorer in the knockout stages of the Champions League, with what was just his fifth goal in the competition, and his first since October 2018.
His header was a brilliant effort, as he watched Julian Brandt’s delicious inswinging corner all the way, nudging his marker ever so slightly before planting a finish into a gaping net, with Gianluigi Donnarumma caught in no-man’s land.
Hummels was immense going the other way, too, as Dortmund held on despite PSG’s onslaught. He made 10 clearances, blocked two shots, made three interceptions and won four tackles, while also winning three of his four aerial battles. It is no surprise he was named as Sofascore’s Player of the Match.
FINE MARGINS
When it really matters in the Champions League, PSG just can’t get over the line.
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