We have a tendency to frame football matches in black and white: the winners have understood it well, the losers have not been up to the task.
But the truth lies somewhere in between: an individual mistake here, or a shot that hits the post and stays there, moments that can replace the state and momentum of the game.
More than anything, the 90-plus minutes played on the pitch are a shade of grey, and Borussia Dortmund’s 1-0 win over Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday took them to the Champions League final next month, 2-0 on aggregate. . , was the best example.
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On the one hand, Dortmund’s defensive solidity in the first half and their brave defense from the box in the second half secured them a clean sheet. On the other hand, PSG had several chances to score in the second half and hit the post 4 times. In the afternoon.
From the first minute, PSG were looking to get back to the equaliser. He pushed full-backs Achraf Hakimi and Nuno Mendes to the front line, while Fabian Ruiz went deep to set up a 3-2-5 with possession.
Luis Enrique’s side had to find overloads in wide spaces to play through Dortmund’s defence, but the Bundesliga’s organisation without the ball proved difficult to break down in the first half.
To fight against PSG’s five players in the forward line, Dortmund wingers Jadon Sancho and Karim Adeyemi have retreated to help their full-backs, forming a situational backline.
When PSG tried to get into their wider players, Adeyemi or Sancho took a step back, with Emre Can adjusting his position to prevent the home side from locating other blue shirts between the lines.
In this example, Adeyemi’s position means Dortmund left-back Ian Maatsen can concentrate on protecting Ousmane Dembele in midspace, with Can in a position for him.
Once Hakimi passes the ball to Dembele. . .
… Can went up and dispossessed the French winger, preventing PSG’s attack.
In the example below, Adeyemi sits deeper than the rest of Dortmund’s midfield, so he can drop and protect against Hakimi while Maatsen concentrates on Dembele.
Marquinhos plays the ball wide to start the attacking sequence. . .
… however, the overloads that Luis Enrique’s team needs to create are unimaginable due to Adeyemi’s defensive positioning. Meanwhile, Can goes down to help Dortmund’s left side when Hakimi passes to Dembele. . .
… who couldn’t get the ball back to his right-back because Maatsen blocked the passing line.
Can’s defensive role also allowed him to keep up with Warren Zaire-Emery’s advances into the box when Maatsen and Adeyemi were dragged off.
A similar scenario played out at the other end of the pitch, where Sancho dropped to form a five-man defence while Dortmund defended their right flank. The England winger’s defensive role has allowed right-back Julian Ryerson to concentrate entirely on Kylian Mbappe. .
The sign of the importance of Sancho and Adeyemi in this defensive role came at the beginning of the second half, after Dortmund took the lead that afternoon, doubling their overall lead.
Here, Adeyemi’s deep position allows Maatsen to protect the midfield opposite Dembele, while, on the other side of the pitch, Sancho is in a position to let himself go. . .
… which means Ryerson can attack Mbappe.
Back on PSG’s pitch, Zaire-Emery beats Hakimi. . .
… but a cross from the right-back cleared Sancho, who beat Mendes with the ball.
For all of Dortmund’s impressive defensive functionality in the first hour, they were helped by the erratic nature of PSG’s late passes. Tellingly, when this facet of their game improved, they overcame Dortmund’s blockade three times.
In this first example, a mix between Hakimi and Dembélé discovers the untracked career of Vitinha, Can. . .
… against the Portuguese midfielder the ball to Gonçalo Ramos, whose shot missed.
Three minutes later, Dembele’s overload on PSG’s left allowed Mendes to hook and locate in space, after the left-back had beaten Marco Reus, and Marcel Sabitzer did fill in.
Mendes then cuts back to Ramos, who fails to hit the target.
The third came from a combination down the right by PSG. Here, Reus, Maatsen and Can stick to Dembele, Hakimi and Zaire-Emery, but the passing combination between this trio penetrates Dortmund’s form. . .
… and in the end he reveals Dembélé in the area after Reus had aimed at the ball.
Mats Hummels then tried to prevent the goal of Dembele, the old Dortmund man, but managed to clear the ball on the edge of the area.
After those attacks, Dortmund coach Edin Terzic switched to a true five-man defence, with Niklas Sule replacing Sancho and Julian Brandt dropping to the right of midfield in a 5-4-1 with no possession.
Still, Dortmund focused on wide defensive areas, with Reus abandoning Maatsen in opposition to Hakimi and Dembele.
The arrival of Lee Kang-in in place of Zaire-Emery, and Ruiz repositioned through Marco Asensio just after the hour mark, increased PSG’s attacking pressure in the final 15 minutes of the match, with PSG’s full-backs also pushing forward.
In the end, it took a defensive display with Dortmund with their backs to the wall, with the ball hitting the post four times and PSG with no chances for the visitors to maintain their one-goal lead that night and qualify for the Champions League final. Third time in the club’s history.
“We know that if we had played this game 10 times today, we probably wouldn’t have won it 10 times,” Terzic said. “It’s just that at this level, it’s the little things that (the game), and we control putting the little things on our side in those two games. “
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