Dortmund Eliminated from Champions League
Dortmund visited PSG for the second-leg of their Champions League clash. The visitors entered the match with 2-1 advantage following a strong showing at home. On top of that, the Black and Yellow had won their last five matches prior to tonight’s match.
Perhaps the most bizarre feature of the match was an empty stadium. In light of the recent COVID-19 outbreak, spectators were prohibited from entering the stadium. While this may have mitigated PSG’s “home-field advantage,” they certainly didn’t play like the stadium was empty.
The hosts opened the scoring midway through the first half on a diving header from Neymar on a corner kick. Dortmund looked disheveled defensively, and Burki opted to hold his line. Neymar’s goal necessitated a goal for Dortmund to keep their Champions League aspirations alive, and they certainly came close on a few occasions before the break.
But any glimmer of hope for the Black and Yellow was shattered when Juan Bernat neatly redirected a low cross to the far post in stoppage time at the end of the half. Dortmund failed to convert on a few occasions in the second half, and ultimately fell to PSG 2-0. As empty as the stadium was Dortmund’s performance. Dortmund host Schalke in the Revierderby on Saturday and look to increase their Bundesliga winning streak to 5.
A 2019 graduate from the University of Michigan with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication, Ryan is an aspiring sports writer with a profound passion for the Black and Yellow. On match day, Ryan can likely be seen draped in Dortmund’s colors, perennially pacing the living room of his Ann Arbor apartment. He dreams of one day watching a match from world football’s largest and most impressive standing terrace, The Yellow Wall.
