To reach Wembley and the Champions League final, Paris Saint-Germain will have to reverse the situation on Tuesday May 7 against Dortmund at the Parc des Princes, after the defeat of the first leg (1-0).
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“ We are sure that we will recover this score and that we will qualify for the final », assures Kylian Mbappé, the star striker of Paris Saint-Germain. And to add: “ There is a lot of pressure, that’s normal because there is a place in the Champions League final, which is not insignificant. Even more so when we know the club’s history in the competition. »
Helped by an open draw since the round of 16, PSG found in the semi-final first leg a club that it mastered in the group stage (2-0; 1-1). But against the Parisians, Dortmund players had more determination to force their destiny.
Finding solutions in defense
With Lucas Hernandez out after a rupture of the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee and who will be away from the field for many months, Nuno Mendes inside physically, PSG coach Luis Enrique will have to find solutions in defense to hope to return the victory again. situation. After being injured in the Dortmund goal in the first leg, Hernandez was replaced on Wednesday by the Brazilian Lucas Beraldo, appreciated by his coach for his passes which break the lines. But, at the age of 20, he discovered matches at these dizzying heights. However, to qualify for the Champions League final at Wembley, the Parisian defense must be solid.
To control Dortmund’s in-depth game, poorly controlled in the first leg like Niclas Füllkrug’s goal, Luis Enrique will have to choose between the young Brazilian or the Portuguese Danilo Pereira, 32 years old.
During the first leg, the Parisians did not show enough intensity. They lost too many duels, like Nuno Mendes and Bradley Barcola, who seemed blunt or inhibited. Not to mention midfielder Warren Zaire-Emery, less impressive for several weeks, who is too little able to project himself. Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé weighed too little.
“ Players are not robots or machines. We lacked intensity in the face of an atmosphere against us. We were not incisive. I have nothing to reproach with the state of mind of my players in the second half. It has nothing to do with tactics, we were unlucky to score », indicated Luis Enrique at the end of the first round.
Marquinhos is confident
Parisian captain Marquinhos assured that PSG was “ confident “, ” emotionally ready » and that he could “ do better “. “ After the match, we said to ourselves that we could do better and the coach framed that and showed us the strategy », Declared the Brazilian defender, who will be aligned as a hinge alongside Danilo or Lucas Beraldo due to Lucas Hernandez’s withdrawal. According to the 29-year-old captain, who will play his third C1 semi-final with Paris, Dortmund “is a great opponent” and Tuesday “ the match is going to be very tough “, but ” it’s not now that we’re going to change everything “.
Luis Enrique’s men will have to win at all costs, by at least one goal to play overtime and more if they want to qualify without going through penalties, four years after the lost final (1-0 ) in Lisbon against Bayern Munich, during the time of Covid-19.