Borussia Dortmund edged past Atletico Madrid in the quarterfinals to set up a semi-final date with Luis Enrique’s Paris Saint-Germain, a side they faced twice in the group stages earlier in the campaign. Dortmund tickets are already selling fast ahead of the highly-anticipated encounter.
BVB have been nowhere near their best domestically this season, sitting in 5th place on the Bundesliga standings behind the likes of Bayer Leverkusen, Bayern Munich, VfB Stuttgart, and RB Leipzig respectively. However, they are enjoying different fortunes in the European scene having played their way into the semi-final of the UEFA Champions League where a familiar foe awaits in PSG.
Can the German side get the better of their French counterparts and go all the way to clinch European glory?
Dortmund’s UCL history
Borussia Dortmund have one UEFA Champions League trophy to their name. A feat they achieved in the 1996-97 season after beating Juventus 3-1 in the final, however, they have been unable to repeat this success despite getting close in the 2012/13 season only to fall short against Bundesliga rivals Bayern Munich.
In the last decade, Dortmund have only failed to qualify for Europe’s elite competition on one occasion in the 2014/15 season after finishing 7th in the Bundesliga the previous season.
Their best run in this time has been quarterfinals knockouts in 2013/14, 2016/17, and 2020/21 seasons respectively.
Dortmund in the UCL this season
Borussia Dortmund secured a place in this season’s UEFA Champions League group stage campaign after finishing second in the German Bundesliga behind perennial champions Bayern Munich. The UCL group stage draw saw BVB squared up against the likes of Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan, and Newcastle United in Group F.
Dortmund had a shaky start to their UCL campaign as they lost their opening group match against PSG, with second-half strikes from Kylian Mbappe and Achraf Hakimi condemning BVB to a 2-0 defeat before playing out a goalless draw with AC Milan.
Their first win came on matchday three against Newcastle United after which they went on to earn consecutive victories over Newcastle United and AC Milan in the reverse fixtures, rounding matters up with a 1-1 draw against PSG to finish on top of the group and secure a place in the round of 16.
BVB squared off against PSV Eindhoven in the round of 16. The first leg of this fixture ended in a 1-1 draw, Luuk de Jong’s 56th-minute penalty cancelling out Donyell Malen’s 24th-minute opener. Dortmund however took charge of the tie in the second leg thanks to Jadon Sancho and Marco Reus with both men scoring in the 3rd and 95th minutes respectively to secure a 3-1 aggregate win and a place in the quarterfinals.
Borussia Dortmund’s UCL aspiration was dealt a damaging blow after losing 2-1 in the first leg of their quarterfinals away at the Civitas Metropolitano against Atletico Madrid. Rodrigo De Paul and Samuel Lino put Atleti two goals up in the first half before Sebastien Haller pulled one back for Dortmund with less than ten minutes remaining in the match.
The second leg in Germany saw a resilient Borussia Dortmund side overturn their first-leg deficit thanks to goals from Julian Brandt, Ian Maatsen, Nicklas Füllkrug and Marcel Sabitzer. Despite conceding two more, they were able to seal a 5-4 aggregate win and advance into the semifinals where they will face Paris Saint-Germain.
Their opponents: Paris Saint Germain
Borussia Dortmund face PSG in the semifinals in what is set to be a repeat of one pair of their group-stage fixtures. Les Parisiens qualified for the UEFA Champions League this season as champions of Ligue 1, drawing AC Milan, Newcastle United, and Borussia Dortmund in group F.
Despite starting their UCL campaign with a brilliant 2-0 victory over Borussia Dortmund, Paris Saint-Germain stumbled to a humiliating 4-1 defeat at the hands of Newcastle before getting back on track with a 3-0 win over AC Milan.
Les Parisiens however failed to win any of their reverse fixtures, suffering a 2-1 defeat at the hands of AC Milan before consecutive 1-1 stalemates against Newcastle and Dortmund respectively to see them finish second behind BVB and earn a place in the round of 16.
Luis Enrique’s PSG were drawn against Spanish side Real Sociedad in the round of 16. The French champions secured a 2-0 win in the first leg thanks to second-half strikes from Mbappe and Bradley Barcola before wrapping things up in the second leg with another win, this time a 2-1 win courtesy of a Kylian Mbappe brace with Mikel Merino pulling one back for Sociedad late on.
PSG squared off against Barcelona in the quarterfinals in what was a goal-blessed fixture. Les Parisiens narrowly fell short on home turf, losing 2-3 to the Spanish giants in an enthralling encounter, however, the French champions turned the tie on its head in the second leg as they cruised to a 4-1 win in Spain, proving to be too much for a Barcelona side who were reduced to ten men early in the game.
Dortmund’s Chances
Since entering the knockout stages, Borussia Dortmund have proved to be unbeatable at home while displaying impressive resilience away from home. BVB lost four points to their French counterparts in the group stages earlier in the campaign and will be looking to change the narrative when both sides clash again with the stakes being higher this time around.
Borussia Dortmund will fancy their chances of edging this tie, given the amount of firepower at their disposal and their current form in Europe.
However, they will also be wary of PSG’s dangerous attack line which they must contain if they are to have any chance of getting the better of their French counterparts.