After butting heads during the Champions League group stage, Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain renew acquaintances for the first leg of an enticing semifinal showdown at Westfalenstadion this night.
Both teams came from behind in their quarter-final ties against Spanish opposition to punch their ticket to the last four, with BVB edging past Atletico Madrid and PSG coming out on top against Barcelona.
Borussia Dortmund have progressed to their first Champions League semi-final since reaching the showpiece event under Jurgen Klopp in 2012-13 after beating Atletico Madrid 5-4 on aggregate in the quarter-finals, winning 4-2 in a thrilling second leg on home soil a fortnight ago.
Preparations for their last-four encounter with PSG have not gone according to plan, though, as they have failed to win their last two Bundesliga matches, drawing 1-1 with champions Bayer Leverkusen after conceding a 97th-minute equaliser before suffering a heavy 4-1 defeat at RB Leipzig last weekend.
Dortmund can automatically qualify for the 2024-25 Champions League if they go all the way in this season’s competition, replicating the heroics of the famous 1996-97 squad, although they arguably enter the last four as underdogs with PSG and either Bayern Munich or Real Madrid standing in their way.
PSG have moved one step closer to winning their first-ever Champions League trophy after beating five-time winners Barcelona 6-4 on aggregate in an action-packed quarter-final tie, advancing to their third semi-final in five seasons.
The French giants lost 3-2 in the first leg on home soil and were then trailing 1-0 in the reverse fixture in Spain, but the dismissal of Barca’s Ronald Araujo turned the tide in PSG’s favour, with Kylian Mbappe (2), Vitinha and Ousmane Dembele – against his former club – all scoring to help Luis Enrique’s men complete the turnaround and seal a 4-1 victory.
