From our special correspondent in Dortmund,
A small miracle. This is what the Parisians had to rely on on Wednesday evening to snatch their ticket for the round of 16 of the Champions League, after having suffered a huge scare on the pitch at Borussia Dortmund. Trailing after returning from the locker room despite a semi-trailer of chances in the first half, while Newcastle was leading during this time against AC Milan, PSG finally escaped thanks to Zaire’s equalizer. Emery and the victory of the Milanese in England. The Parisians are qualified for the rest, but this draw leaves them in second place in the group and opens the door to a complicated draw next Monday.
Chronic ineffectiveness
We should never have reached this point this evening, as the Parisians had their chances to take off during a very lively first period, without us really knowing if it was thanks to the quality of the attackers or the defensive feverishness displayed on both sides. We sailed during these first 45 minutes with the feeling that each ball carried within the opponent’s 25 meters could score. From the very first hot situation, this procrastination of the young Bynoe-Gittens when he had all the time to arm (2nd), to the face-to-face spoiled by Kolo Muani in front of Kobel (45th), it did not stop .
And if the BVB also created clear chances, like this off-target shot from the full-back Wolf all alone from 10 meters (14th) or this closely missed recovery from Adeyemi following a shot that was pushed back with difficulty by Donnarumma ( 32nd), it was the Parisians who were closest to opening the score. We still wonder how Lee Kang-In failed to take this cross in front of Kolo Muani’s goal (16th) at close range, and even more so how Süle was able to run so quickly in the next minute to save on the line a shot from Mbappé that the whole stadium already saw in the background (17th). A few moments later, Barcola’s little curled right foot hit the post (20th). It was a lot, especially since 1,000 km away, Newcastle opened the scoring and virtually sent Paris to the Europa League.
Progress expected for the round of 16
Things were not going to get better after the locker room, with a culpable loss of ball from Hakimi which ended with Adeyemi opening the score (51st). At that time, things were going badly, very badly, and we were wondering where we were going to put the emerging cataclysm in the already well-stocked shelf reserved for PSG’s European disillusionments. Fortunately, Paris can count on a golden kid. On a ball poorly cleared by the German defense, Zaire-Emery attacked the area full axis and placed his shot out of reach of Kobel (54th). A few minutes later, the Milanese also equalized at Newcastle and we began to regain some air.
The evening could have finally ended in apotheosis for the Parisians but Mbappé’s first-place goal was canceled for a borderline offside detected at the VAR (76th). And as Barcola decided to do anything at the conclusion of a four against two to be played two minutes later, PSG must therefore be content with second place. It could have been better, it could have been much worse too. In any case, the Parisians finished this first phase trembling, unable to win an away match, with a defensive base unworthy of a contender and a worrying offensive ineffectiveness. We will have to show notable progress so as not to see the road come to an abrupt end in the round of 16 like the last two seasons.