Erling Haaland brace gives Borussia Dortmund first leg win over Paris St. Germain
By Tushar Bahl
A second half brace from Erling Haaland gave Borussia Dortmund a 2-1 win over Paris St. Germain in the first leg of their Champions League round of 16 tie.
Playing with an unchanged side, Borussia Dortmund were the better team right from the get go. They started the game with some quality counter attacking football and high pressing, stifling the PSG midfield. Jadon Sancho looked especially dangerous, causing plenty of problems to the away side with his pace and trickery.
The Englishman came close to scoring the opener, but his curling effort was well saved by a diving Keylor Navas.
Sancho then set up Erling Haaland, but the latter just couldn’t position himself well enough to get his header on target. Haaland then hit the side-netting, as Dortmund continued to assert their control on the game.
Despite their dominance, the Black and Yellows weren’t able to get the all important breakthrough, as the two teams went into the break goalless.
Dortmund started the second half just as they had ended the first. A well worked corner ended with Jadon Sancho playing a fine cut-back, but unfortunately for him, he just couldn’t find a black and yellow shirt. Haaland came close just moments later, as Dortmund continued to pile the pressure.
Paris St. Germain started to grow into the game after the hour mark, but Dortmund’s back three stood firm to make sure they did not concede.
With the game opening up, Lucien Favre decided to bring on Gio Reyna in place of Thorgan Hazard. And Borussia Dortmund finally got their opener just two minutes later. It was Erling Haaland who got the goal, showing great reactions to find the net after Raphael Guerreiro’s goal-bound effort was deflected.
Their lead did not last long however, as Kylian Mbappe to glided past two defenders, before finding Neymar, who had the simplest of tap-ins, giving PSG a crucial away goal.
But just as the travelling supporters were finishing celebrating the equaliser, Erling Haaland left the net bulging with a thunderous strike from the edge of the box to restore Borussia Dortmund’s advantage.
Neymar came close to equalising for PSG, but he was denied by the woodwork. Achraf Hakimi then had the chance to double Dortmund’s lead, but he failed to find the target from a tight angle.
Next. Borussia Dortmund player ratings from PSG win. dark
It ended 2-1 in Borussia Dortmund’s favour, giving them a small cushion ahead of next month’s second leg in Paris. PSG’s away goal means Borussia Dortmund still have plenty of work to do if they are to progress to the quarterfinals. But if Lucien Favre’s side play like they did tonight, there will be no stopping them.