At the Parc des Princes,
It was to be a match for history, it will ultimately complete the desperately long story of PSG’s greatest European disillusionments. Despite the sacred union, despite the crazy atmosphere set by their supporters well before kick-off, despite the assurance broadcast at all levels since last week, the Parisians were eliminated in the semi-final of the Ligue des champions, this Tuesday evening, by Borussia Dortmund.
Beaten on the first leg, they were also beaten on the return, with the same score (0-1) at the end of a match that they were only able to win after the German opened the score after returning from the locker room . It wasn’t necessarily too late, but it will leave a carload of regrets, when we see all the opportunities of the last half hour. At the final whistle, what remained was the nagging impression that Paris, in both matches, had not fully grasped the extent of the event.
The mood of the decade to wear them
Because otherwise, how can we explain this calming first period, where the team failed to capitalize on the atmosphere of the big evenings magnificently created by the Park. The Auteuil stand was immense, we even saw Boulogne singing and jumping, but it wasn’t enough and it’s heartbreaking, because it’s precisely the attitude that we expected the Parisians to have, after the disappointment of the journey where we had felt them inside for a long time. Dortmund, the atmosphere, the yellow wall, the tension, we were willing to listen because we were nice but there, in a C1 semi-final return home with the atmosphere of the decade for you to wear is inexcusable.
We can always say that PSG has not been varnished. It’s true. Luis Enrique’s men hit the posts four (!) times, through Zaire-Emery (47th), Nuno Mendes (61st) and Mbappé (86th) and VItinha (88th). After the two in the first leg, it’s already phenomenally bad luck and it doesn’t help. They also didn’t have that little bit of luck on Hummels’ foul on Dembélé at the very edge of the area which could have offered a penalty if the German defender was a size bigger. But it never turned out in the right direction, and we can’t say that it was a coincidence either.
Sad for Mbappé
In both matches, Borussia deserves more. Perfectly prepared, very accurate in the way they executed their score, they were able to foil the Parisian plans, in particular to get out of the high pressure desired by Luis Enrique. And above all, they knew how to score. After the long ball behind the defense last week, this time they found the fault on a corner, on a header from Mats Hummels, completely let go of the marking by Beraldo. If you don’t have it in mind and want to hurt yourself, we advise you to watch how this corner was conceded by Marquinhos.
Opposite, we are still looking for the Parisian strike force, this possession supposed to create spaces somewhere at some point. But nothing, or very little, like Kylian Mbappé, who was no more successful than last week despite his repositioning to the left. The crackito showed nothing, or almost nothing, ever found in depth, also a victim of too slow transitions in midfield.
He ended the match by tripping over one of the rare passes into space that he could have exploited. Mbappé would have dreamed of a better outing for his (very very) probable last European match with PSG at the Parc des Princes. The stadium looked beautiful for him, for his entire team, for this first Champions League semi-final at home since 1995 (PSG-City in 2021 was played behind closed doors). Quite pschitt. How do you say “air conditioning” in German?