Borussia Dortmund is back among the European football elite. In the win against Atlético Madrid, BVB showed impressive comeback qualities. Meanwhile, Paris turned up the heat in Barcelona.
Niclas Füllkrug celebrates his goal against Atlético Madrid.
Friedemann Vogel / EPA
(dpa) At Borussia Dortmund, the magical festival atmosphere of Europe’s big Champions League nights is back. After a spectacle against Atlético Madrid, Dortmund’s football cathedral resembled a madhouse on Tuesday evening. The BVB professionals danced for minutes in front of the trembling south stand, which, like the entire stadium, had longed for the 4:2 (2:0) win. After reaching the premier class semi-finals for the first time in eleven years, BVB can now even dream of another showdown at Wembley.
“It was a roller coaster ride, a really great evening,” said BVB boss Hans-Joachim Watzke on Amazon Prime Video. “It’s not like that every day for Borussia Dortmund. The last time we were in the semi-finals was in 2013. This is a big day for all Borussia players.”
Unlike this Bundesliga season, coach Edin Terzic’s team did well in the international spotlight and made up for the 1:2 loss six days earlier in the Spanish capital. In front of 81,365 spectators in the roaring Signal Iduna Park, Julian Brandt (34th minute), Ian Maatsen (37th), Niclas Füllkrug (71st) and Marcel Sabitzer (74th) scored the deserved victory. An own goal from Mats Hummels (49th) and Angel Correa (64th) equalized in a highly intense game.
BVB will face Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-finals in just two weeks. The final will take place on June 1st at London’s Wembley Stadium, where BVB lost the German duel with FC Bayern (1:2) in 2013.
PSG impresses in Barcelona
Three red cards, spectacular goals and a comeback from Paris Saint-Germain that was hardly thought possible: superstar Kylian Mbappé led the French champions to the semi-finals of the Football Champions League for the first time in three years. PSG won – also thanks to a good 60 minutes of superiority – at FC Barcelona 4:1 (1:1) and thus made up for the 2:3 from the first leg. This means that the dream of the title is over for the two German national players Marc-André ter Stegen and Ilkay Gündogan in the Barça jersey.
After Raphinha conceded an early goal, ex-Dortmunder Ousmane Dembélé (40th), Vitinha (54th) and Mbappé twice (61st/penalty and 89th) turned the game around. However, the comeback was helped by an early red card against Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo after an emergency stop (29′). But that wasn’t enough: Coach Xavi and an assistant from the Catalans also had to vacate their places in the second half because they were annoyed with the Romanian referee Istvan Kovacs.
This means that striker Mbappé can still hope for an international title at the end of his seven-year era in the PSG jersey. The 2018 World Cup winner is expected to move to Barça rivals Real Madrid in the summer.