Borussia Dortmund: Small advantage, but valuable.
Borussia Dortmund came out on top in the Champions League semi-finals. A single goal from Niclas Füllkrug puts the Germans ahead for a place in the grand final.
Borussia Dortmund and PSG faced each other this week, Wednesday, at Signal Iduna Park, in the first leg of the 2023-24 Champions League semi-finals. An open duel, but one that ended in German victory.
Dortmund, with just one goal from Füllkrug in the first half, beat Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 and gained a small and valuable advantage in the semi-final knockout stage.
Fülkrug scored in the 36th minute, beating Donnarumma one-on-one in a first half in which the Dortmund team was superior. PSG, obliterated in the first half, improved in the second half and wasted six clear scoring opportunities: two balls hit the post with Mbappé and Hakimi, two headers from Fabián Ruiz and two shots from the player Dembélé.
The bad news comes from Lucas Hernández, defender of the Paris Saint-Germain team, who left the game injured. The French player appears to have sprained his left knee and ended up being replaced in the 42nd minute by Lucas Beraldo.
And now, Edin Terzic’s team has the good advantage of playing for a draw at Parque dos Príncipes, next week, to qualify for the Champions League grand final. For the PSG team, only victory matters.
Bayern: Kim Min-Jae with 2 catastrophic errors.
Bayern were unable to overcome 2-2 at home against Real Madrid and the German press regrets it. ‘Bild’ is especially critical of Kim Min-Jae, whom it accuses of “destroying” an initial situation “with 2 catastrophic mistakes”.
The Santiago Bernabéu will be decisive for the outcome of the knockout stages of the Champions League semi-finals. The first round between Bayern and Real Madrid could not have ended more open. With 2-2 anything can happen.
The German media regret that Bayern were unable to gain a positive advantage in the clash at their own stadium. ‘Bild’ speaks of a “bitter” draw and directly points out Kim Min-Jae: “He destroyed a better initial situation with 2 catastrophic errors”.
For Real Madrid’s first goal, Vinicius Jr was faster than the South Korean and he could only watch as he beat Neuer with strength and precision. Unfortunately, this wasn’t his only mistake on the night. When Bayern were winning 2-1, he committed a penalty to Rodrygo and, once again, Vinicius Jr scored to destabilize the Allianz Arena.
The ‘Süddeutsche Zeitung’ is calmer, pointing to “unnecessary action in the final phase”, which ended in a “fulminating” game.
And yet, ‘Der Spiegel’ reminds us that it is Real Madrid who have “a clear psychological advantage” for this latest clash. Meanwhile, ‘Frankfurter Allgemeine’ highlights that Bayern stood out and played with momentum in the first half of the game, although Bayern’s mistakes later led to the draw.
This 90-minute time in Concha Espina can be very long. In any case, both Bayern and Real Madrid are two great clubs and true specialists in Europe and both are just a short distance away from reaching the grand final at Wembley.
Source: besoccer