Neymar and Bernat fire PSG past Dortmund and into the last eight

Goals from Neymar and Juan Bernat saw Paris Saint-Germain deservedly overturn their first leg deficit to progress to the quarter finals of the Champions League for the first time in four years.

In an eerie atmosphere, with the game being played behind closed doors due to fears of the coronavirus being spread, the home side struggled to find their rhythm in the opening 20 minutes. They enjoyed plenty of possession but couldn’t find a way to cause Dortmund any serious problems in what was a tepid opening.

In fact, it was the visitors who had the first good opportunity when Jadon Sancho volleyed a Raphaël Guerreiro cross well wide from the edge of the area.

This seemed to be the catalyst for PSG to up the tempo and as a result they began to create a succession of clear cut chances. Edinson Cavani had the first, as he raced into the penalty area following a wonderful through ball from Angel Di Maria. However, Cavani saw his shot well saved by the outstretched right foot of Roman Burki.

Three minutes later, the French side got their reward for the continuous pressure they were applying. Di Maria’s corner was met by Neymar’s diving header in the six yard box and sailed past the helpless Burki and into the back of the net. 

This would have been enough for PSG to progress on away goals but on the stroke of half time they took the lead in the tie. Di Maria slipped the ball into the right channel and Pablo Sarabia drilled a low cross into the area which was flicked home by Bernat.

The second half had a very different complexion as Dortmund played a little more on the front foot and PSG settled for mainly playing on the counter attack. However, the German side were lacking their usual attacking fluidity and struggled to find a way back into the tie.

The introduction of Julian Brandt with 20 minutes remaining helped inject a little more panache into the Dortmund attack. It was arguably the German midfielder who had the best chances. The first one came when he found room on the edge of the area after good work from Łukasz Piszczek. However, he drove his low shot narrowly wide of the near post. The second was a deflected shot that had Keylor Navas in the PSG goal scrambling as it landed on the roof of the net.

There was late drama as Emre Can was shown a red card for a foul and subsequent push on Neymar which sparked a mass brawl between both sets of players and coaching staff.

Having ten men really hurt Dortmund’s chances of spending stoppage time camped on the edge of PSG’s box and meant they never conjured anything remotely threatening in what should have been a thrilling climax.

Team Lineups:

PSG XI: Navas, Kehrer, Marquinhos, Kimpembe, Bernat, Gueye, Paredes, Di Maria, Sarabia, Neymar, Cavani

Dortmund XI: Burki, Piszczek, Hummels, Zagadou, Hakimi, Can, Witsel, Guerreiro, Hazard, Haland, Sancho