Unlucky Parisians fall one step short of the final
Despite the best efforts of their players and the passion of an incredible Parc des Princes crowd, Paris Saint-Germain lost by the narrowest of margins to Borussia Dortmund in the second leg of their UEFA Champions League semi-final. Here's a look back at the match, which saw the Parisians hit the woodwork 4 times...
Incredible tifos, constant singing and a rousing anthem: there was definitely a taste of the Champions League in the skies over Paris, for the second leg of our Red and Blue's semi-final against Borussia Dortmund in the most beautiful of competitions. Less than a week after a narrow 1-0 defeat in Germany, Luis Enrique's men went into the second leg with absolute determination. The Spanish coach opted for a very attacking starting eleven, with Gonçalo Ramos in attack alongside Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé.
There was no arriving late on this great European evening... Spurred on by a roaring Parc des Princes, which erupted in cheers as soon as the referee blew his whistle, our players got straight down to business. The first pinpoint passes, the first touches, the first blistering runs quickly set the scene: this was going to be a hard-fought battle. You only had to look at the first balls from Gonçalo Ramos, hungry for every challenge, or the first interceptions from Ousmane Dembélé on his right flank, to realise that all the Parisians were going to be putting their opponents under pressure on Tuesday evening.
Big games don't always make big matches. Luis Enrique's men were hampered by the Germans' impenetrable defence, and it was only in the second half that the two sides really got going. But when a place in the UEFA Champions League final is at stake, you have to be prepared for headwinds. The kind that deprive us of that finishing touch, like when Warren Zaïre-Emery hit the post with his rebound just after the interval (47'). The frustration was compounded a few minutes later when Hummels opened the scoring from a corner (0-1, 51').
The minutes were ticking away and PSG now needed to score two goals to level the tie. The Red and Blue's task became even more complicated. It was enough to see the Parc des Princes tear its hair out when Nuno Mendes hit the post with a rocket from distance (61'). Not to mention when Kylian Mbappé hit the bar with his right-footed effort tipped onto the crossbar by Kobel (86'). Then there was Vitinha's strike, which crashed against the post two minutes later (88').
Luck wasn't on our side, but all the ingredients were there, with the crowd cheering and chances galore. The 30 shots in this game were just not enough to change fate. Because to reach a final, you sometimes need all the little details that fate doesn't seem to want to give you.
Although our Red and Blues threw everything they had into this suffocating final match, success eluded them right to the end... A cruel scenario for this united team, supported by an absolutely fantastic crowd. The European adventure ends here, but the journey was a great one. And the season is far from over...