Borussia Dortmund defeated PSG 1-0 in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal tie, with Niclas Fullkrug scoring the only goal of the game. The 31-year-old produced a remarkable finish on the break to give his side the lead, timing his run perfectly and controlling the ball well before slotting it past Gigio Donnarumma.
The German striker had several opportunities to add to his tally later on in the game, but could not produce a composed finish. The tie is not yet decided, as the slim lead means very little heading into Paris next week.
Borussia Dortmund register advantage in UCL semifinal tie
Fullkrug has recently given Dortmund an enormous lead…#Dortmund pic.twitter.com/NClI6br8yu
— Shoaib Nawaz (@shoiabnawaz) May 1, 2024
Lucas Hernandez had to be substituted in the first half, after a tough night for the defender. The former Bayern Munich man was bleeding from the mouth after a coming together with Marcel Sabitzer. And as it turned out, he had injured himself during Fullkrug’s goal.
The striker shoved off pressure from Hernandez to create space for himself to shoot, and in the process, injured the defender’s hamstring. Lucas Beraldo came off the bench to take his namesake’s place, and it now remains to be seen if Hernandez will be available for the second leg.
Dortmund did well to cope with the threat posed by Kylian Mbappe, Bradley Barcola and their former player, Ousmane Dembele. The front three tried to link up quite well, but could rarely test Gregor Kobel between the sticks. They will have to step up in the return leg next week if they are to reach the finals of the competition one more time.
