The Parisians crashed out of Europe with yet another signature big-game loss, ending their superstar forward’s tenure in appropriate fashion
The more things change, the more they stay the same – or so the adage goes. Paris Saint-Germain were supposed to be a different team this year, a squad that had been stripped down and fine-tuned, with Kylian Mbappe the central star in a well-oiled machine.
But on Tuesday in the second leg of their Champions League semi-final, they befell the same, entirely predictable fate, a marketing project falling at the hands of a real football team, Mbappe rendered near-useless as they crashed out of Europe’s biggest competition with a 2-0 aggregate loss to Borussia Dortmund.
Everything about this was too familiar. PSG showed effort, put a lot of shots on goal, and were a bit unlucky that five or six of them didn’t go in. But they were also missing in the big moments. Meanwhile, Dortmund put together an impressively gritty performance, with Mats Hummels deservedly scoring the only goal in the 1-0 victory at Parc des Princes.
Following a quiet first half, the game came alive after the break. The Parisians should have opened the scoring within minutes of the whistle, as Warren Zaire-Emery and Goncalo Ramos both missed golden chances within the same passage of play.
And Dortmund took advantage. Edin Terzic’s side were dangerous from set-pieces throughout the tie, and finally capitalised as Hummels rose to meet Julian Brandt’s teasing corner and headed home at the back post. What followed was a glut of PSG misses, as they tallied 30 shots in the game, hit the woodwork four times, and tallied an xG of 3.22. They could not, however, force the ball home.
Still, there was a feeling that they didn’t deserve to win, as Terzic’s well-coached team ground out a result the proper way, showing a superpower built on glitz and ego what European success looks like. And Mbappe ended his Parisian career in the only way that felt appropriate – a dramatic but entirely predictable defeat.
WINNER: Mats Hummels
Jadon Sancho may have dominated the headlines after Dortmund’s first-leg win six days ago, but it was actually Hummels who was named as UEFA’s official Player of the Match. The veteran had managed to keep Mbappe on a leash at Signal Iduna Park, with his commanding presence key in the German side claiming the advantage. What wasn’t clear at the time, however, was that the best was yet to come.
The 35-year-old was outstanding alongside the equally-impressive Nico Schlotterbeck in the French capita, as Hummels commanded the space that the Parisians so often looked to send Mbappe into. He cut off passing lanes before they existed, and made smart movements to ensure PSG’s all-time top scorer couldn’t get in the game.
Hummels delivered in big moments, too. At one end, it was a game-changing slide tackle to prevent Mbappe from levelling the tie in the first half, while at the other, he delivered the knockout blow with a fine header. Of Dortmund’s starters in this tie, he is the only one who played in the final last time the club got there, back in 2013. He will return to Wembley on June 1 as perhaps the most impressive defender in this season’s competition.
LOSER: Kylian Mbappe
Mbappe has promised for years that he would bring Champions League glory to his hometown club, and while he didn’t play poorly here, he simply didn’t have the kind of impact big players are supposed to have on games of this magnitude. Whether he is to blame or not, he failed to deliver on the vow he made to what has become his club.
Over the course of the two legs, everything about him was too predictable; the feints all went the same way, the cuts all to the same angle. He played the same pass nearly every time, and tried to receive the ball in the same way.
Admittedly, Dortmund turned in an admirable defensive effort, but Mbappe spent too much of the tie in isolation, before exploding into the occasional moment of mercurial dribbling brilliance. He can certainly point fingers elsewhere, but this was a time for superstardom, for him to provide the perfect parting gift.
But if this was his best effort, then perhaps the Parisians might not be so disappointed to see him leave. The only question now is whether his European curse will go with him to Madrid.
WINNER: Marco Reus
Marco Reus is a sublime player, a creative force with a magical right foot, capable of changing any game – even as he approaches his 35th birthday. However, his horrific luck with injuries and some unfortunate moments on the biggest stage have kept the veteran from a true day in the sun. He came close to Champions League glory in 2013, but Dortmund lost a tight game to Bayern Munich at Wembley.
Now, though, he will get one final chance. Reus announced last week that he will leave Dortmund at the end of the season, after it became clear that Terzic no longer considers him a regular starter. He will now, though, get his chance at a fairy-tale ending.
Reus came off the bench here, and did well over 40 minutes. Whether he can replicate that in the final remains to be seen, but the attacking midfielder has the chance to end his Dortmund career in a way few in football would begrudge him.
LOSER: PSG’s big-money summer signings
Mbappe is having one of the best goal-scoring seasons of his career, but that doesn’t mean he doesn’t need help from elsewhere. So often, PSG’s opponents have tried to stop Mbappe by ignoring the other members of the team’s attack, and on many occasions, it has been an ineffective tactic, with Luis Enrique getting just enough from his side to account for a nullified superstar.
But here, the two big-money signings from last summer – Ramos and Ousmane Dembele – failed to provide. Both squandered several good chances over the course of the contest, with Ramos, in particular, culpable as he missed the same chance twice by launching cut-backs over the bar. He looked far from the exciting talent who scored a memorable hat-trick for Portgual at the World Cup in 2022.
Dembele, meanwhile, had some signature mishaps of his own, as he lashed over when well placed in the first half while he made some poor decisions in key areas. This is not ‘Mbappe FC’ all the time, and sometimes the other guys have to step up. On Tuesday, though, €115 million (£99m/$124m) worth of attacking talent failed to deliver alongside him.
WINNER: Edin Terzi
There is an argument to be made that Terzic shouldn’t be coaching this Dortmund team. After coming so close to Bundesliga glory last year – and squandering it in dramatic fashion – his team have been poor domestically this campaign, and currently sit fifth in the Bundesliga. His job has reportedly been under threat on several occasions, but the club have stuck by him.
And it paid dividends here. Terzic admitted that he got his tactics all wrong when these two sides met in Paris in the group stages, as the manager elected to go with a conservative back-five in a 2-0 loss. On Tuesday, he was more expansive, while across two legs he out-coached Luis Enrique.
He set up his team in a 4-3-3 of sorts, utilising the trickery of his wingers, power of Niclas Fullkrug up front, and encouraged his side to be brave in the press. As a result, PSG rarely had time to settle, while the individual defensive efforts all over the pitch can only be applauded.
Dortmund will be outmatched in terms of talent regardless of who they play in the final, but boyhood fan-turned-coach Terzic can’t be counted out to produce another knockout masterstroke.
LOSER: QSI
All of that money spent, all of those kits sold, all of those pictures taken, all of those sponsorships blasted around the footballing world. And for what?
There was scepticism around Qatar Sports Investment’s project from the outset, with president Nasser Al-Khelaifi’s thirst for superstars often outweighing the interests of the team. What has followed has been embarrassment after embarrassment on the European stage, the club becoming a punchline for rival fans due to the calamitous nature of some of their exits.
This was by no means on the same level as La Remontada or some of PSG’s most memorable collapses, but this newly-formed team met the same fate as its predecessors. A first European Cup remains illusive, and as the superstar era ends in Paris, there can be no doubt that it was an absolute failure.