PSG, Dortmund in Champions League return battle
Made to pay for missed opportunities in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final, Paris Saint-Germain seek to right their German wrongs in Tuesday’s return battle with Borussia Dortmund.
The French champions are 90 minutes away from familiar European heartbreak owing to last week’s 1-0 reverse at the Signal Iduna Park, where one of Dortmund’s icons took played a Champions League home game for BVB for the very last time.
DortmundDortmund also registered their fifth clean sheet of this season’s Champions League thanks to the profligacy of PSG, who were at least blessed with a weekend off from Ligue 1 matters in preparation for Tuesday’s tantalising second leg, although they have already run away with the top-flight title yet again.
Close yet no cigar has always been the theme for Les Parisiens in the Champions League, but Enrique’s side have already reversed a first-leg deficit against Barcelona in the quarter-finals and could now become the first team in tournament history to reach the final after losing their opening quarter and semi-final battles.
Parc des Princes
Bidding to break PSG’s 24-game scoring sequence at the Parc des Princes en route to an unforeseen Champions League final, Dortmund proudly boast the label of defensive masters in this season’s European Cup; a fifth shutout in last week’s slender success represents the highest tally of any team in the tournament.
Putting one foot in the Wembley showpiece was the perfect response to a Bundesliga slump, which had seen Edin Terzic‘s men draw with champions Bayer Leverkusen and suffer a 4-1 humbling versus RB Leipzig, but the visit of Augsburg to the Signal Iduna Park on Sunday was a foregone conclusion inside just 30 minutes.
Preview
Dortmund’s big-hitters are well-rested too, though, and the added motivation of giving Reus the parting gift of a Champions League medal around his neck is a powerful one indeed. Two hours of football may not be enough to settle this tie, but the intimidating Parc des Princes atmosphere should play its part in a nail-biting shootout, where we believe PSG will hold their nerve to punch their ticket to the final.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
