Champions League first place in the hammer group
BVB is fighting for a good starting position for the round of 16
Status: 13.12.2023 | Reading time: 3 minutes
BVB prevails in the group with Milan, PSG and Newcastle
Source: AP/Martin Meissner
As much as BVB stumbles in the Bundesliga, they are just as impressive in the Champions League. After the draw against PSG, Borussia finished the preliminary round in the hammer group first. A supposedly easier opponent awaits in the round of 16.
For BVB, which is weak in the Bundesliga, the Champions League remains an oasis of well-being. Dortmund were also very lucky in the 1-1 (0-0) draw against the star ensemble from Paris Saint-Germain, but to the astonishment of the experts, they finished top of Group F as winners. After a remarkable exchange of blows between both teams in front of 81,365 spectators in the sold-out Signal Iduna Park, coach Edin Terzic’s team can hope for an easier opponent in the draw for the round of 16 on Monday.
“It’s great that we finished first in the group. It was a fair draw,” said Marco Reus. Karim Adeyemi (51st minute) gave the hosts the lead, and Warren Zaire-Emery (56th) equalized for PSG shortly afterwards.
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Unlike in the Bundesliga, BVB recently performed consistently well in the Champions League – and that continued against Paris. Despite the top-class PSG starting eleven, Borussia got into the game well and dominated the game in the early stages. Especially because the hosts pressed the French star ensemble around Kylian Mbappé and thus repeatedly forced them to make mistakes.
In contrast to the disappointing 0-2 in the first leg in Paris, Terzic did not rely on wall tactics this time. In attack, he relied on the lightning-fast Karim Adeyemi, among others, to pose a threat to PSG on the counterattack. This time Niklas Süle started in central defense instead of Nico Schlotterbeck. And that paid off early.
Hummels and Adeyemi miss the best chances
Because the French got into the game a little better after a while. After almost 20 minutes, superstar Mbappé was free and only had to push it into the empty goal from a tight angle – but the rushing Süle was able to steer the ball out of bounds with a monster slide. The national player’s defensive action was met with loud applause. BVB was also lucky with Bradley Barcola’s (20th) shot hitting the post and Randal Kolo Muani’s attempt (24th).
Adeyemi celebrates his goal to make it 1-0
Source: dpa/Bernd Thissen
Suddenly Dortmund’s defense wobbled because there was no pressure on the PSG defense at the front. Dortmund withdrew, which was the only way Paris came in better. Only when Borussia pressed higher again did things go much more their way. Adeyemi (32nd) and Mats Hummels (45th+1) missed the best opportunities.
An extremely entertaining game developed at Signal Iduna Park, which somewhat surprisingly initially lacked goals. If one team retreated more, the other became more dangerous. Accordingly, there was a lot of spectacle, which the spectators applauded loudly at halftime.
PSG hits back immediately
It didn’t take long until the audience was rewarded with the first goal. And it happened exactly as the course of the game had suggested – after a successful pressing action. BVB put Paris under pressure deep in their own half and won the ball. Via Ramy Bensebaini and Niclas Füllkrug he found Adeyemi, who shot in from close range.
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But the joy didn’t last long because PSG equalized just five minutes later. This time BVB did not defend consistently and that was immediately punished. An unfortunate ball went to Zaïre-Emery, who made it 1-1 with a low shot. PSG remained dangerous afterwards, but the French were unable to score the winning goal.
