Supported by its fans, Signal Iduna Park once again lived up to its nickname of the ‘yellow wall’. A fortress that earned Dortmund their place in the Champions League quarterfinals thanks to a goal from Jadon Sancho in the first half and another from Reus in the second, which broke the 1-1 lead in the first leg.
Before the Italian referee Daniele Orsato whistled the start of the match, the German fans were already completely devoted to their team, aware of how much was at stake. His strength at home helped him finish first in the group stage, in a true ‘group of death’ along with PSG, Milan and Newcastle. In their fiefdom, in fact, none of them managed to win and Luis Enrique’s team was the only one capable of scoring at Signal Iduna Park.
Dortmund came out overwhelming and in the first minute of the match they already had the goal in their hands thanks to a powerful shot from Maatsen that Benítez saved masterfully. But Borussia didn’t forgive the second time and made it 1-0 three minutes into the game. Jadon Sancho managed to beat the Argentine goalkeeper with a low shot that was very close to the post, making it impossible for the PSV goalkeeper to arrive to prevent it.
Edin Terzic’s men were not satisfied as they besieged their rival, reaching the goal of a masterful Benítez again and again. In a PSV adrift, the Argentine goalkeeper was the only one who managed to keep his team alive in the tie.
The Dutch team needed more than half an hour to score their first shot on goal, with which they seemed to wake up a little from the nightmare that their trip to Dortmund had become and they went to half-time with a better feeling. Bosz brought on ‘Chucky’ Lozano in the second half and the Mexican gave the imbalance that PSV was missing, even crashing a ball into the woodwork in the 53rd minute. The German fans, who had delighted in their team’s display In the first half, I looked at the clock wishing the game would end in the second. Dortmund was suffering from the offensives of Lozano, Luuk de Jong and Bakayoko.
And when they needed it most, Niclas Füllkrug appeared to rescue the German team by finishing a good cross from Reus into the back of the net. But the joy did not last long, as it took the VAR to review the action and annul it due to a millimeter of offside that left the Signal Iduna Park frozen.
The action helped Dortmund get back into the game in a truly heart-stopping final stretch in which they had to deal with an attacking PSV looking for a goal that would force extra time. Luuk de Jong had it in added time, but his shot went very high over the goal. The ‘yellow wall’ resisted and Reus, already in added time, sealed the match 2-0. The German team is among the eight best in Europe, something they have not achieved since the 2020-21 season and tomorrow they will meet their rival in the quarterfinals.
