Borussia Dortmund took a first step towards the Champions League final against Paris Saint-Germain. But BVB will probably have to deal with another Kylian Mbappé on Tuesday
It was one of those ruthless finishes that Kylian Mbappé is capable of thanks to his quality, even when not much else is coming from him. But in the 51st minute of the Champions League semi-final first leg in Dortmund, the ball hit the post with the score at 0:1, out of reach for BVB keeper Gregor Kobel. As did Achraf Hakimi’s attempt seconds later.
It was not PSG’s night in terms of converting chances, as the performances of their normally potent attacking trio showed. Alongside Bradley Barcola and Ousmane Dembelé, Mbappé was even the best with a 3.5. But the fact that the French will go into next Tuesday’s second leg in Paris without a goal of their own was also down to his underwhelming performance
Now BVB, who will take the narrowest possible lead to the French capital, should not expect too much from this. After all, Mbappé was unusually inconspicuous in the first leg of the quarter-final against FC Barcelona (2:3), only to become the decisive factor in the second leg (4:1) with a brace. The exceptional striker had also only scored twice in the second leg of the round of 16 tie against Real Sociedad – “only” once in the first leg.
The 25-year-old, who is set to leave the club in the summer – probably for Real Madrid – therefore shows a clear trend in the second leg. And there is another unusual result that stands out. Unlike in his previous six CL seasons in a PSG shirt, when he always scored at least three, Mbappé has yet to score a single goal with one or at most two games to go in the current season
Only Kane can keep up
With his departure on the horizon, while he has apparently become more dispensable for coach Luis Enrique, is he showing a pronounced stubbornness? The statistical truth is that Mbappé is still Paris’ top scorer, something that has not changed compared to the years with Lionel Messi and Neymar. The 2018 world champion has already scored eight goals in 2023/24 – putting him joint top of this year’s top scorers list with Harry Kane – and has never scored more in a CL season.
Mbappé’s eleven appearances in the top flight so far this season are also a record – so the path to the trophy is not far off for the still uncrowned superstar at club level. Despite the 0:1 defeat in Dortmund. The second leg is still to come
