Dortmund: Borussia Dortmund’s disciplined performance against favourites Paris St Germain earned them a 1-0 Champions League semi-final first-leg win but next week’s return encounter will be far tougher, said their coach Edin Terzic.
The Ruhr valley club bagged the winner in the 36th minute through Niclas Fuellkrug to take a slim advantage going into Tuesday’s return leg in Paris.
“We showed a very good game, a narrow win but a deserved one,” Terzic told a press conference. “It was a great teamwork performance that got us there. We wanted that small advantage. We know next week will most likely be tougher than today.” “This is just halftime and next week will be a different story. It won’t be easy to deal with their power play in front of a home crowd. We felt it today from the 45th to the 60th minute.” PSG improved after the break and twice hit the woodwork in the 51st minute while also missing several more chances.
“We felt their quality. We showed our best game against PSG but next week they will have a euphoric backing of their fans and they will want to turn the tie around,” Terzic said.
But Dortmund have already secured something tangible from the first leg, with their win confirming another Champions League spot for Germany for next season for which they look to be the main beneficiaries.
They have struggled in the Bundesliga this season and are currently in fifth place with three games to play.
“We wanted to qualify for the Champions League through the Bundesliga and not this way,” Terzic said. “But the fact that it will be enough to qualify as fifth is also partly down to our success, our contribution.
“Our minimum goal was to qualify for the Champions League. Now it (added spot) does not improve our Bundesliga season but it does offer a softer landing.”
Terzic said he was not surprised by Jadon Sancho’s quality after the on-loan forward helped score the lone goal in the match.
Sancho joined Manchester United from Dortmund for €85 million ($91.11 million) in August 2021 but failed to hold down a regular spot and returned to Germany after becoming embroiled in a row with manager Erik ten Hag.
After impressing on the right wing against PSG, Terzic said he sees Sancho’s quality all the time in training.
“It’s maybe not so easy to bring it onto the field, especially when you haven’t had rhythm for a while,” he told reporters.
“We know his quality and we saw it again today. We knew we needed a performance like that from Jadon.” Sancho said he was taking things one game at a time and hoped to maintain his good form into the second leg in Paris.
“I came here at 17 and they gave me the opportunity to play my professional football,” he told CBS Sports.
“I am delighted with all the staff and players that have welcomed me back. I really don’t know (if I am going to stay). I am just focused on the present right now.”
