DORTMUND — Borussia Dortmund's Niclas Füullkrug fired in a first-half goal to seal a 1-0 victory over visitors Paris Saint-Germain in their Champions League semi-final first leg on Wednesday.
Nico Schlotterbeck floated a pass into Füllkrug's path and the Germany forward controlled the ball with a perfect first touch before drilling a low shot past keeper Gianluigi Donnarumma in the 36th minute.
DORTMUND STRIKE FIRST ⚡
Schlotterbeck sends a perfect ball over to the top
Füllkrug makes no mistake pic.twitter.com/GJ2jytxpbd— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) May 1, 2024
PSG, fresh from being crowned Ligue 1 champions and desperate to win their first ever Champions League trophy, found it hard going against a disciplined German defense, especially in the first half with forward Kylian Mbappé largely neutralized.
The French side improved after the break and went agonisingly close to an equalizer in the 52nd with Mbappe curling a shot onto the far post and then Achraf Hakimi also hitting the woodwork on the rebound.
PSG hit post twice in 10 seconds
RIGHT POST. LEFT POST. A FLYING ATTEMPTED HEADER!
Mbappé and Hakimi come so close for PSG pic.twitter.com/inLUbDm46Q— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) May 1, 2024
Only four minutes later Fabian Ruiz saw his stooping header sail wide after being left completely unmarked in the box before Dortmund keeper Gregor Kobel kept out Ousmane Dembele's close range effort in the 71st.
Dortmund, winners in 1997 and looking to reach their first final since 2013, soaked up the pressure as PSG's Vitinha narrowly missed the target 10 minutes later to leave the French side needing a win in Tuesday's return leg in Paris.
The winners of the tie will face either Bayern Munich or Real Madrid, who drew 2-2 in Tuesday's first leg in Munich.
Dortmund vs. PSG full highlights
(Reporting by Karolos Grohmann, Editing by Toby Davis)