With Newcastle United having been held to a goalless draw at the San Siro against AC Milan in Tuesday’s teatime kickoff, attention swiftly turned to the second Group F fixture. Borussia Dortmund would travel to PSG’s Parc des Princes, with a heavily weakened side that has been limping along in the Bundesliga since the summer departure of Jude Bellingham.
PSG: Donnarumma; Hernández, Škriniar, Marquinhos, Hakimi; Vitinha, Ugarte, Zaïre-Emery; Mbappé, Kolo Muani, Dembélé
BVB: Kobel; Schlotterbeck, Hummels, Süle; Ryerson, Sabitzer, Can, Brandt, Wolf; Malen, Adeyemi
With les Parisiens having stuttered to a disappointing defeat against OGC Nice on Friday night, fans hoped that Luis Enrique’s men would be able to bounce back and kickstart their UEFA Champions League campaign with a positive result against German opposition.
But while the hosts managed to control the possession throughout the first half, chances were few and far between. Achraf Hakimi sought to tee up Vitinha with twenty minutes on the clock, but the midfielder’s effort struck the post – and that would be the best goalscoring opportunity of the first 45 minutes.
PSG felt they should have been awarded a penalty just minutes before the break though, when a corner delivery struck the arm of Niklas Süle. VAR was quick to dismiss their appeals, highlighting that contact followed a deflection – and the German was simply a bystander as he committed the alleged offence.
Les Parisiens would be awarded the spot-kick that they had longed for merely moments into the second half, as Süle was found to have handled the ball inside the area once more following Kylian Mbappé’s strike. This time, VAR sided with the hosts, and Mbappé was able to dispatch a calm and composed effort into the bottom left corner from twelve yards out.
Just ten minutes later, the home fans would be celebrating their second goal of the evening. Vitinha’s neat linkup play with Hakimi on the right flank allowed the Moroccan to dart forward, cutting inside and thumping a stunning effort past Gregor Kobel.
The deficit could have been reduced with ten minutes left to play when Hakimi was clumsily dispossessed by Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, but his effort struck the outside of the left post after a classy one-two with Marco Reus.
Six additional minutes would see two further chances, with Mbappé’s attempted dink bouncing just wide of the woodwork before Gonçalo Ramos was painfully denied by the linesman’s offside flag after slotting home PSG’s third of the evening.
PSG can now prepare for their trip to Newcastle United’s St James’ Park on 4 October, while Borussia Dortmund must regroup and strengthen if they’re to stand any chance of a positive result at home against AC Milan on the same date.
