3️⃣ things we learned as Borussia Dortmund book UCL final spot | OneFootball

Borussia Dortmund progressed to the Champions League final after a stunning 1-0 second leg win against Paris Saint-Germain.

Here is what we made of events at the Parc des Princes.

Defensive giants lead Dortmund to paradise

Over the two legs, Dortmund might have rode their luck at times but enormous credit has to be given to every single one of their players and manager Edin Terzić for a herculean defensive effort.

From minute one in Paris, their game plan worked a treat, allowing PSG to dominate the ball but rarely appearing flustered and also threatening on the counter attack with Jadon Sancho and Karim Adeyemi.

Niclas Füllkrug, scorer in the first leg, was the first line of defence and proved a brilliant outlet throughout but it was the twin towers at the back who acted as Dortmund's Yellow Wall and the bedrock that their success was built on.

Mats Hummels rolled back the years to produce arguably his best performance since his starring role in Germany's 2014 World Cup win, defending for his life and also popping up with the crucial goal early into the second half when he was somehow left unmarked at a corner.

Beside him and conversely, Nico Schlotterbeck perhaps came of age as a defender, shackling Kylian Mbappé and Gonçalo Ramos among others.

All in all, it was a defensive display reminiscent of years gone by and one that Jose Mourinho, in particular, must have looked on at with fondness.

Wasteful PSG fail on the biggest stage again

On the flip side, it was another "one of those nights" for PSG as they crashed out of Europe again.

It wasn't for a lack of trying, though, as the recently-crowned Ligue 1 champions peppered the Dortmund goal with efforts - 31 in total.

Amazingly, four of their shots tonight hit the woodwork to go with the two from the first leg.

Despite the stats, the apparent bad luck and the brilliant Dortmund defending, PSG have to take some of the blame themselves. Trailing from the first leg, they started slowly as they did in Germany last week.

Knowing their own history in Europe, surely flying out of the blocks tonight should have been the first call of action from Luis Enrique. Maybe it was and maybe the failure since 2011 and the expectation that comes with it weighs just too heavily on everyone connected with PSG.

The loss means there will be no dream ending to the Kylian Mbappé era in Paris and leaves their Qatari owners with even more questions after billions of euros spent for just one final in 13 years, and even that came during the pandemic.

Wembley awaits

Dortmund's win means they will make their way to Wembley for the 1 June final, 11 years on from their last at the same venue.

Back then, the Black and Yellow were truly one of Europe's best sides, having won two Bundesliga titles under Jürgen Klopp and full of some of Europe's best and brightest young stars.

Things are slightly different now with Dortmund fifth in the league but they still have Mats Hummels and Marco Reus, the two survivors of their heyday.

To add to the feeling of déjà vu, Dortmund could face arch-rivals Bayern Munich once again as they did in 2013. Even if Real Madrid are the ones to progress tomorrow night, it will be a repeat of the semi-final from that same year.

Reus has confirmed he will leave the club after the final, while Hummels' future is still up in the air.

Could the pair sign off in the grandest of fashions and write the final chapter in what might be the most remarkable Champions League story in many years?