By Melody Gross 
Borussia Dortmund beat Paris Saint-Germain 1-0 today, in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final, because they played a great match that should have ended 3-2 or 4-3, and it would have been better.
The German team clearly excelled in the first half, because it was more aggressive, more ferocious, because it won most of the individual duels and was more objective in searching for the goal against the Paris Saint-Germain team, which shared possession. But with little progress and the ability to break the cohesion of the German defensive mass.
The goal came late, in the 36th minute, by striker Niklas Volkrug, who opened at the right moment for a long throw from Niko Schlotterbeck, from his defense, who surprised the French defense, isolated himself and beat Italian goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma.
Paris Saint-Germain can thank the latter for not taking a 2-0 lead in the second half, when in the 43rd minute they prevented Sabitzer from scoring the second goal with a brilliant save, the kind that counts for points.
In the second half, PSG finally woke up, putting speed and aggression into their game, which quickly paid off, as Kylian Mbappé and Moroccan Achraf Hakimi hit the post, both in the same play.
The match began to disintegrate and chances came for both goals, as Spanish midfielder Fabian Ruiz wasted a wonderful opportunity in the 55th minute, heading a long ball into the back of the German defence.
Five minutes later, it was the turn of Jadon Sanchez, who gave a wonderful performance. He defeated Portuguese Nuno Mendes and headed to the goal line to score the second goal for Volkrok, who shot over the crossbar from the edge of the small area, in all circumstances. To score a goal.
Opportunities continued, and in the 63rd minute it was Fulrock who shot a curling header, which was apparently pushed away by Nuno Mendes' hands behind his back, with complaints about a penalty kick, and in the 71st minute it was Ousmane Dembélé, isolated by Mbappe. Who missed the equalizer, while the same player missed the score 1-1 on the edge of the penalty area, in a move that began with a wonderful throw from Vitinha, in which Hakimi isolated himself from the right side.
With the game completely split, another goal could have gone either way, with Sancho leading Brandt 2-0, Marquinhos 'eventually' avoiding in the 84th minute, and with Fabian Ruiz scandalously missing a 1-1, with a header into the area after A valuable pass from Vitinha.
Dortmund was better collectively and deserved to win, despite the increased performance of Paris Saint-Germain, which has better players on an individual level, in the second half.
Portugal internationals Vitinha and Nuno Mendes were regular starters for PSG, with Danilo Pereira and Gonzalo Ramos yet to leave the bench, but there was a feeling that the latter should have been an option to come on in the second half, as French striker Kolo Moani chose him. Luis Enrique started the game poorly and never recovered.
This accidental win for the Germans leaves everything open for the return match in Paris a week later.
Borussia Dortmund is looking for the second title in its history, having won it under the technical leadership of Ottmar Hitzfeld in the 1996/1997 season (final victory over Juventus 3-1), after reaching the final in 2012/13. With Jurgen Klopp, who will lose to Bayern Munich, who won 2-1.
Paris Saint-Germain has not won this competition before, and the closest it came to achieving that was in 2020, when it reached the final, which it lost to Bayern Munich 1-0 thanks to a goal by Frenchman Kingsley Coman.