The U19s lose by the narrowest of margins in Dortmund

Zoumana Camara's men faced Borussia Dortmund this afternoon in a crucial match with a place in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Youth League at stake. Paris Saint-Germain, who finished top of Group H in the group stage, came into the game confident but humble against a German side who had the advantage of playing on home soil.

After a convincing group phase, the Parisians arrived in Germany with the intention of continuing their journey in this competition. However, the match started well for the home side, who pressed and tried to play with a high block. Despite some attempts, the Rouge et Bleu did not give in and managed to hold strong.

The club from the capital then proceeded in transition with the desire to disrupt the German defence. An ability to move forward that allowed the Parisians to take the lead after a good team move where Ilyes Housni broke into the area before passing to Noah Lemina who finished the move with his left foot (0-1, 40')!

Unfortunately for Papus Camara and his men, Borussia reacted immediately with a move down the right by Samuel Bamba. The young German winger managed to beat his marker and then cut inside to equalise with a shot from six metres (1-1, 42'). Just before the break, the Rouge et Bleu came close to scoring a second goal but Ilyes Housni's header from a good cross by Yoram Zague went wide. The two teams went back to the locker room level.

The Parisians started the second half brightly, once again showing themselves to be dangerous in the air: this time it was young Kouakou Gadou who came close to heading past the keeper. The German team reacted immediately with a one-on-one opportunity, but Louis Mouquet's good positioning made it difficult for the striker to finish. 

As the two teams neutralized each other, the end of the regulation time approached and each move could prove to be decisive. BVB winger Samuel Bamba's cleverly taken free-kick from 20 yards out hit the crossbar. The game entered the final quarter of an hour and Vimoj Munta Wa Mungu was sent off for a second yellow card... The club from the capital were forced to finish the game with a man down. The Parisian team managed to keep the scoreline intact, however, and the two sides had to go to penalties to settle the tie. 

Unfortunately, our Titis lost 5 penalties to 4 in the end. For captain Younes El Hannach and his team, the European adventure ends in Germany after a cruel scenario. A run that was full of emotions and lessons learned for our young Parisians.

the next game 

The U19 team will return to the National Championship action where they are currently in third place when they host Amiens SC. This match will be played on Sunday 5th March at the Stade Georges Lefèvre (15:00) as part of the 20th matchday of the league.