In the Lluis-Companys Olympic stadium, all we can hear is the chants of Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) supporters this Tuesday, April 16. Romanian referee Istvan Kovacs has just whistled the end of the quarter-final second leg of the Champions League between PSG and FC Barcelona. By overthrowing the Catalans (1-4) after a first-leg defeat (2-3), Luis Enrique’s men earned their place in the last four of the European competition; a level that the capital club had not reached since 2021. The euphoria of the moment is mixed with hopes for the future. Kylian Mbappé, who “dreams” of offering the red and blue their first “big-eared haircut”, smiles in the mixed zone: “It’s one more step taken. »
Once the “climb” back onto the terrain was fully enjoyed, it was time to begin the descent. Three games still separate the Parisians from the precious trophy that they have never lifted. Starting with the double confrontation with Borussia Dortmund (BVB), the first act of which takes place on Wednesday May 1, at 9 p.m., at Signal Iduna Park. The chance of the draw certainly spared PSG from prematurely meeting Real Madrid, a club with fourteen Champions Leagues, or Bayern Munich, six-time winner of the competition – the last time at its expense, in 2020. But to see the final in London on June 1, he will have to avoid the pitfall of BVB, winner of the 1997 edition and finalist in 2013.
The two teams have already been able to measure each other this season, during the group stages. And if the Germans had taken the lead in the famous “group of death” – “the most difficult, with Newcastle, AC Milan”, as coach Luis Enrique likes to remind us – they had not managed to bring down Kylian Mbappé and his teammates. Results of their direct confrontations: a success at the Parc des Princes for the capital club (2-0), a draw at the foot of the “yellow wall” (1-1), the stand where fervent Dortmund supporters gather.
The memory is still a little bitter for Edin Terzic, the Borussia coach. “The first leg in Paris didn’t please us at all, we were far from what we wanted to do. But it was still a close match. The second one here was completely different. It was also a close match, but we were closer than PSG to victory,” he insisted at a press conference after his men qualified for the semi-finals. And the technician is convinced: BVB is “even more stable and better” than six months ago.
Luis Enrique knows well that the truth of autumn is not necessarily that of spring. “They play very good football, it will be very difficult,” he admitted to the media after the match against Barça. “But we have time to prepare for victory,” he estimated in mid-April.
Dembélé’s return to Dortmund
It must be said that his troops moved into the Ruhr full of confidence. In the wake of the victory in Catalonia, they put together a string of good performances on the Ligue 1 pitches, against Olympique Lyonnais (4-1, April 21), then Lorient (1-4, April 24), with a renewed workforce and executives left, in turn, to rest. And although the match against Le Havre, Saturday April 27, ended in a disappointing draw (3-3), PSG ended the weekend crowned with its twelfth league title – thanks to the defeat of Monaco in Lyon (3-2).
Already winner of the Champions Trophy at the beginning of January, the capital club can still dream of an unprecedented quadruple, as it will compete in the final of the Coupe de France on May 25 against OL. “We are entering the last month and a half of competition, and we are in the process of achieving our objectives”, welcomed Luis Enrique at a press conference at the PSG Campus in Poissy (Yvelines), on April 20. “We are in a very good position, we have the possibility of winning everything. »
Their evening opponents have already had to give up the German Cup – eliminated in the round of 16 by Stuttgart. They are currently 5th in the Bundesliga – already won by Bayer Leverkusen –, 5 points behind the last qualifying place for the next Champions League, three days from the end.
Another reason for celebration for the Parisians, they are traveling to Dortmund with a full squad and, above all, their playing master, Ousmane Dembélé. The number 10, decisive in the quarter-final against Barcelona, had missed the previous meeting across the Rhine, suspended after receiving several yellow cards. He is also eagerly awaited by BVB fans, who have had little taste of the end of his adventure under the yellow and black colors after just one season – wanting to join FC Barcelona at all costs, he had decided not to not show up for training sessions in preparation for the 2017-2018 fiscal year.
“We have shown that we are a very difficult team to beat, technically, tactically, mentally. The statistics are there. Now is the time to play for the competition that all teams want. I am convinced that we will really fight and that we will go to the final,” said Luis Enrique. If the path to the final seems rather open for PSG, beware of the last obstacles on the road to Wembley. And Dortmund’s “yellow wall” is no small one.