A 1-1 draw against Paris Saint-Germain is enough for Borussia Dortmund to win the group.
Happy but exhausted, the Champions League heroes from Borussia Dortmund stood in front of the south curve and were celebrated by the fans: BVB showed its radiant premier class face again and won the group with a draw against Paris Saint-Germain.
The Westphalians, who are weak in the Bundesliga, fought to a 1-1 (0-0) draw in a spectacular encounter and can therefore hope for an easier opponent in the round of 16 draw on Monday.
“It was a wild game that could have gone either way. Unfortunately it wasn’t enough to win, but in the end the draw was okay,” said Marco Reus on “DAZN”.
Adeyemi puts BVB in the lead
Karim Adeyemi (51st) gave the hosts the lead in the high-class game and brought the Signal Iduna Park to a boil. Warren Zaire-Emery (56th) only managed to equalize for the guests. The draw was enough for the French champions led by superstar Kylian Mbappe to advance happily.
In front of 81,365 spectators, the game required no start-up time at all – both teams relied on fast-paced football and unconditional offense. Only the exploitation of opportunities initially left something to be desired on both sides.
The guests, who were under significantly more pressure, missed five big chances before the change. Kang-in Lee, completely free in front of the Dortmund goal, didn’t hit the ball correctly (16th), a minute later Niklas Süle saved his already beaten goalkeeper Gregor Kobel with a monster slide against Mbappe on the line. “With some reflex I manage to get my foot up. That was a spectacular rescue act, but I could have done it better beforehand,” said Süle.
The Swiss goalkeeper would also have had no chance when Vitinha shot against the post (20th), as well as against Randal Kolo Muani, who appeared free in front of him. The ex-Frankfurter put the ball just next to the goal (24th) and was later denied by Kobel (44th).
BVB impresses with its commitment and enthusiasm
BVB had some problems with the French’s pace and allowed themselves to lose the ball unnecessarily in midfield, after which things became dangerous. The Black and Yellows, who recently won only once in six games in the league, impressed with a lot of commitment and enthusiasm.
In the end, the hosts also showed a lot of room for improvement. Marco Reus was denied by PSG goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma (10th, 26th), Marius Wolf shot wide (14th) and Adeyemi put the ball over the empty goal from close range (32nd).
Even after the change, things got straight to the point. After a few seconds, Julian Brandt tested the Italian European champion Donnarumma from a distance – then the first goal was finally scored. Niclas Füllkrug put the ball across in the penalty area and Adeyemi pushed in.
The guests now needed two goals to advance on their own. And they quickly responded with the equalizer through Zaire-Emery. But Dortmund also played fully for victory. Substitute Donyell Malen found his match in Donnarumma (62′).
Both teams had to pay some tribute to the high pace after almost 70 minutes. The offensive actions were no longer as precise – but they were still exciting. Mbappe narrowly missed the ball (72′) and then hit the goal (77′), but was just offside.
Before the game, the federal police arrested numerous guests’ fans during checks. The federal police said pyrotechnics, masking material and pepper spray were seized from the PSG supporters. Emergency services from the Netherlands and Belgium were also involved in the measures at the German-Dutch and German-Belgian borders.