Dortmund 1-0 PSG: Jadon Sancho outshines Kylian Mbappe in Champions League thriller

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Jadon Sancho delivered a masterful display as Borussia Dortmund edged out Paris Saint-Germain in a thrilling first leg of their Champions League semi-final tie.

The England winger, who returned to Germany on loan from Manchester United in January following a high-profile falling out with Erik ten Hag earlier in the season, was the inspiration for Edin Terzic’s side, who will take a narrow 1-0 advantage to the French capital for next week’s all-important decider on the road to Wembley.

Germany striker Niclas Fullkrug scored the only goal of a pulsating game at a rocking Signal Iduna Park, sending the famed Yellow Wall into raptures 10 minutes before the interval after showing brilliant poise to take down an excellent long Nico Schlotterbeck pass and shrug off PSG defender Lucas Hernandez – who was injured in the process and had to be substituted – before rifling an unstoppable low effort beyond the despairing dive of Gianluigi Donnarumma.

Such a classy goal succeeded in sparking an otherwise rather cagey last-four meeting into life, with Donnarumma making a second smart save from Marcel Sabitzer before momentum swung wildly back and forth during an enthralling, end-to-end second half that saw missed chances galore by both teams.

Kylian Mbappe and Achraf Hakimi both hit the post within seconds of each other for PSG, who had failed to muster a single shot on target before the interval.

Fabian Ruiz somehow skewed a header well wide from close range and there were further chances for the likes of Mbappe and Fullkrug, the latter looking to profit from Sancho’s electric performance as he saw penalty appeals waved away by English referee Anthony Taylor following a push by a struggling Nuno Mendes.

Ousmane Dembele blasted another golden opportunity over the crossbar after being teed up by Hakimi, while PSG then had captain Marquinhos to thank for keeping the deficit at only one goal as he made a tremendous last-ditch block to keep out Julian Brandt’s effort.

An utterly engrossing second half somehow ended goalless, leaving everything to play for at the Parc des Princes next week.

But regardless of what happens in France, Wednesday’s result means that the Bundesliga have now officially beaten the Premier League to a coveted fifth Champions League place for next season.

If they do not win the competition this year then the main beneficiaries look set to be Dortmund themselves, given that they currently occupy fifth place in the German top-flight with only three matches left to play this term.

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