Dortmund made a major false start in Madrid and were 2-0 behind after 32 minutes. “If you start with almost two own goals, then it’s not easy. We tried to fight back somehow,” emphasized Sabitzer on Sky. BVB did better after that and, according to Sabitzer, had “a little more control and structure” in the game – and a strong goalkeeper Gregor Kobel. The reward was the well-deserved goal by Sebastien Haller in the finish (81st).
It was Sabitzer who tore the decisive hole in the compact Atletico defense with a Fersler. It was bad luck that his team hit the crossbar twice more. “We will try to turn the game around with our fans behind us,” announced the ÖFB team kicker. “We go out with the good feeling that we can sort this out next week. It’s definitely not over yet,” explained BVB sports director Sebastian Kehl after a respectable performance.
“Mixed feelings” for BVB coach Terzic
Borussia Dortmund’s 2-1 defeat against Atletico Madrid in the quarter-final first leg of the Champions League leaves Edin Terzic with mixed feelings. His counterpart Diego Simeone, however, does not feel safe despite the lead before the second leg in Dortmund.
Coach Edin Terzic also saw the reasons for this being a certain inexperience at this level. “We have a lot of boys who are playing a quarter-final in the Champions League for the first time,” he said on the DAZN streaming service. “If you make so many mistakes, then it’s actually over.” Sabitzer was therefore all the more pleased about Dortmund’s strong fighting performance. “We knew it would be intense. The stadium was there, so you have to withstand the pressure,” said the offensive man.
PSG threatens to stumble again before the goal
PSG is also aiming for a turnaround, but the French have to play in Barcelona in the second leg. “This is obviously not the result we were hoping for,” said coach Luis Enrique, whose club is still waiting for its first title in the premier class. “We are going to Barcelona to win a war.” The former Barca player and coach saw a highly entertaining duel in which his team turned a 0-1 half-time deficit into a 2-1 lead after the restart But the finish was lost again.
Barca coach Xavi proud of “important victory”
In the quarter-final first leg of the Champions League, FC Barcelona beat Paris Saint-Germain 3-2. While Xavi was satisfied, PSG coach Luis Enrique is relying on his team’s away strength in the second leg.
His former teammate and protégé Xavi showed a good hand by replacing Pedri and Andreas Christensen. The former prepared the equalizer through double goalscorer Raphina, the latter scored the winning goal around a quarter of an hour before the end – PSG goalie Gianluigi Donnarumma did not play a glorious role in either goal. Barca’s chance of reaching their first CL semi-final in five years is here. “We showed that Barca is alive against a team that is built to win the Champions League,” explained the 44-year-old.
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Barcelona are heading for the semi-finals at PSG
Scoring in quarter-final first legs
But his team shouldn’t be blinded by the result. “Nothing has been decided yet, PSG are still favorites. It will be tough in Barcelona,” warned Xavi. “We will show improvement,” promised Enrique. Lucas Hernandez was similarly convinced. “We have a team that is capable of turning the situation around,” said the defender.
In any case, neutral fans can hope that the quarter-final second leg will be just as entertaining and goal-scoring as the first leg. A total of 18 goals were scored on Tuesday and Wednesday, as many as in the 2010/11 season.
