While events at Newcastle’s match against AC Milan could potentially hurt the French team, Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain knew that their match could determine the final standings in the Champions League group.
Paris Saint-Germain took full advantage of the early pressure in the first half of a frantic game that featured chances for both teams.
The best opportunity of the first half was wasted by Kylian Mbappe, who was sent through on goal and round the Dortmund custodian, only to have Niklas Sule’s brilliant defensive play deny him the chance to tap the ball into an empty net.
The ball was going into the net, but the German defender was able to recover to the line and almost scissor-kick the ball clear.
From then on, both teams wasted opportunities. Karim Adeyemi attempted to score from close range, but his shot went over the crossbar. Meanwhile, Randal Kolo Muani raced through on goal, but his effort was too delicate to score.
After receiving a pass from Mbappe on the edge of the area, Bradley Barcola curled a shot goalward, but it bounced off the post and struck the post.
With the last kick of the first half, Mats Hummels attempted a diving header that flashed past the back-post, but Gianluigi Donnarumma, who had been the hosts’ worst enemy the entire time, made a series of athletic saves.
Paris Saint-Germain appeared to froze a little when word spread that Newcastle United was leading in the other group match.
The confident play they had shown in the first half vanished, and they fell behind 1-0 in the 51st minute as Adeyemi scored.
Adeyemi was in a pocket of space on the penalty spot after Dortmund executed a well-executed move, and he dragged a cute shot into the far corner of the net.
As it was, the Parisians were going to lose in the Champions League, but in the space of five minutes, everything changed.
After AC Milan tied the score against Newcastle United in England, PSG equalised in Dortmund thanks to a bullet that Warren Zaire-Emery, their best player of the season, deflected slightly past Gregor Kobel.
With fifteen minutes remaining, Kylian Mbappe had the ball in the goal. He appeared to time his run perfectly, racing onto a pass and firing a low shot into the far-right corner of the Dortmund net. However, VAR stepped in to rule the goal out for offside, leaving PSG anxious about what transpired at St. James’ Park.
At this point, the excitement subsided when word spread that AC Milan had taken a 2-1 lead over Newcastle, meaning that a draw would have been sufficient for both PSG and Dortmund to advance.
The players from both sides were told by Achraf Hakimi to relax and finish the 1-1 match, which was sufficient for both teams to advance.
