Borussia Dortmund faces Paris Saint-Germain, whose star striker Kylian Mbappe is looking to lead the French team to its first-ever UEFA Champions League title in his last season there before a likely move to Madrid.
Germany didn’t have a single semifinalist in each of the last three seasons. In the 2019-20 competition, it had two – Bayern Munich and Leipzig – and Bayern was the eventual champion.
This season, Bayern and Dortmund have mounted impressive European campaigns while underperforming on the domestic front.
Dortmund is in fifth place in the league so its deep run in Europe has come as something of a surprise.
PSG won another French league title on Monday but the Champions League is the trophy the Qatar-backed club is desperate to finally get its hands on.
And there would be no better way for Mbappe to sign off at the end of the season than by leading PSG to victory in European club football’s elite competition.
The club is already planning for life without its superstar striker, who is set to walk away as a free agent, with players like Randal Kolo Muani, Ousmane Dembele and Goncalo Ramos expected to help fill the void in his absence.
But Mbappe could still have a big say in the Champions League and he scored two goals in PSG’s 4-1 comeback win against Barcelona in the quarterfinals.
It’s been a strange season for Dortmund and that was underlined by Saturday’s 4-1 loss against top-four rival RB Leipzig.
Dortmund has certainly saved its best performances for the Champions League, none better than the comeback win over Atletico Madrid in the quarterfinals.
Striker Sebastien Haller scored in the first leg against Atletico but injured his ankle in Dortmund’s next game and hasn’t played since. Forward Donyell Malen has been struggling with pain, too.
Much could depend on which version of Jadon Sancho turns up to face PSG.
Sancho, who scored against Leipzig, has shown glimpses of his obvious talent since returning to Dortmund in January on loan from Manchester United. The issue is whether the former England forward can consistently play at his best.
“Both I and Jadon have noticed he isn’t at the peak of his performance yet, but that’s totally OK. That’s something we were aware of when we decided to bring him back, but we know that he’s able to reach that maximum very quickly,” Dortmund coach Edin Terzic said Friday.
“Every training session, Jadon has a moment that shows his incredible talent and we see how hard-working he is with the team.”
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