In an electrifying night on the European stage, Paris Saint-Germain wrote its history. On Wednesday, the Parisians brought Xavi and the Catalans to their knees at home. Meanwhile, Dortmund, in a thrilling match, showed the exit door to Griezmann and his teammates.
They Wanted It, They Got It!
Yet everything had started well for Barcelona, who dominated the first 15 minutes. Lamine Yamal, breaking through, outpaced Nuno Mendes on his flank. A powerful cross from him saw Brazilian Rafinha beat Hakimi, who was in a duel, and Donnaruma, far from his goal. But that was the end of the road for Barcelona. Ronald Araujo was shown the red card after a collision with Bradley Barcola just outside the penalty area, as he was challenging Ter Stegen. A very real scoring chance and a logical decision from the referees.
With a numerical advantage, Parisians capitalized on it. Ousmane Dembélé, booed since the beginning of the match, silenced the Catalan crowd by equalizing. With a monstrous strike at the far post, Ter Stegen remained frozen in place. Paris revived, Paris regained confidence: Dembélé, once again, the Parisians’ scorer and savior.
At halftime, Barcelona had to change the game. A single goal would have allowed them to regroup defensively, but Luis Enrique’s men turned the tables. On a two-phase corner, Vitinha, 25 meters out, found himself alone and placed a perfect shot into the small net of the German goalkeeper (54′).
Seven Years Later
Seven minutes later, Paris, once again in the penalty area, benefited from a defensive error from Cancelo, who tackled Dembélé while he was completely out of the box. The latter collapsed and won a penalty. Kylian Mbappé, confident, rose to the occasion, sending the ball into the net with a powerful shot to the left side (61′). At that moment, the capital city sealed its comeback, seven years later.
It was only towards the end of the match that PSG stamped their ticket to the semi-finals. Led by Ashraf Hakimi, Kylian first shot, but Ter Stegen intervened before Marco Acenscio attempted a superb volley, once again blocked by the German wall. However, it was on a poor ball clearance from Jules Koundé that the ball reached Mbappé, who scored his 40th goal in 42 matches (89′).
Paris rolled the dice, Luis Enrique eliminated his own team on his own turf, while hearing the Blaugranas chant “UEFA is a mafia.” But the Parisians’ joy overshadowed all of that as they found themselves once again in the Champions League semi-finals.
Dortmund, Too, Writes Its History
In addition to the clash between Barça and PSG at Montjuic, this European night offered another high-level quarter-final return match. Borussia Dortmund hosted Atlético Madrid at Signal Iduna Park. After Atlético Madrid won the first leg 2-1, the Colchoneros held a slim advantage over Dortmund, who could rely on home advantage. In the first leg, Diego Simeone’s men had generally been superior but let slip a two-goal lead late in the game, giving the Germans some qualifying opportunities. Both teams naturally fielded their best players. Unlike the previous match, Griezmann’s team faced a bit more resistance early in the game, and exchanges were rather rough, marked by a brief observation period characterized by fouls and technical errors on both sides.
It was in the 34th minute that Matt Hummels launched Brandt from the left side of Oblak’s penalty area. Oblak, expecting Brandt to pass to Witsel, was deceived when the former shot hard and opened the scoring. Barely five minutes later, Dortmund forced the issue again, with Sabitzer finding Maatsen. Once again on a low cross, Oblak couldn’t do anything. In a short moment, Dortmund managed to break through Diego Simeone’s defense.
Spanish Reaction
On a corner from the left side, Hermoso tried his luck with a header. The ball’s trajectory was diverted by Hummels, accidentally deceiving his own goalkeeper (2-1, 49′). Galvanized by the entry of players like Barrios or Riquelme, Madrid players gained the upper hand in the game. Angel Correa, also dangerous, was rewarded for his efforts. After a series of rebounds on an action he initiated, he managed to send the ball into the net with difficulty, in a moment of panic (2-2, 64′).
Was qualification assured for the Colchoneros? Absolutely not. The hosts did not give up, and Füllkrug scored the 3-2 with a superb header from a Sabitzer cross (3-2, 71′). Then it was the Austrian’s turn to shake the net. After a nice feint, the former Manchester United player unleashed a powerful shot to put his team ahead in the tie (4-2, 5-4 on aggregate). In great form, Sabitzer was close to scoring a double on this long-range shot, brilliantly saved by Oblak (87′).
The match between Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund promises to deliver a semi-final worthy of a great spectacle, with the clash set for April 30th.
