Top Winners and Losers After Champions League Semi-Finals Leg 1 Results

Top Winners and Losers After Champions League Semi-Finals Leg 1 Results0 of 3

Alex Grimm/Getty Images

Borussia Dortmund took down Paris Saint-Germain in an excellent 1-0 victory in Wednesday’s Champions League semifinal first leg.

Niclas Füllkrug’s stunning winner left Kylian Mbappé and his teammates needing a huge performance during next week’s return. The Parisians turned it around against Barcelona in the last round and will be hard-pushed to perform as wastefully as they did in Germany.

Here’s your winners and losers for Wednesday…

Winners: Karim Adeyemi & Jadon Sancho1 of 3

Lars Baron/Getty Images

Dortmund’s wingers put in an absolute shift.

Adeyemi’s willingness to track back halted Achraf Hakimi, one of PSG’s most potent threats, aiding the mission to starve the visitors’ frontline of service. His sheer pace also put the full-back onto the back foot and forced him into uncomfortable situations facing his own goal.

The one time Adeyemi switched off, PSG nearly slipped in for an equaliser, but Ousmane Dembele couldn’t finish. It goes to show how important his role was to Edin Terzić’s gameplan.

Sancho supported his team in a more subtle way in the first half, before absolutely running the show in the second.

His excellent dribbling and calmness in possession initially stopped opportunities for PSG to apply pressure on the break. As the game progressed, he kept the ball moving and continued to find small pockets of space, marching forwards with real confidence.

Only a poor Füllkrug miss and last-ditched Marquinhos tackle stopped him having two deserved assists. A really mature performance that highlights his improvement since returning on loan from Manchester United.

Losers: PSG’s Forward Line2 of 3

ANP via Getty Images

Gregor Kobel could have bought himself a nice book to read in the first half.

Mbappé, Dembele and Bradley Barcola were the scourge of Barcelona in their second-leg turnaround. On Wednesday, they might as well not have been on the pitch at times in the opening 45 minutes and couldn’t take advantage of major opportunities in the second.

To be fair to Mbappé, he showed two moments of real quality, hitting the post and playing an excellent ball to Dembele as the game wore on. But Dembele looked sloppy all night, the kind of form that saw him not score in 18 games before his recent flurry of goals.

Many questioned whether PSG would have looked so sharp against Barca if the Catalans hadn’t gone down to 10 men early in the second leg. Tonight wasn’t a confident reply to that and puts major pressure on Luis Enrique’s men when the second leg arrives in Paris.

Winner: Mats Hummels3 of 3

ANP via Getty Images

As poor as PSG’s finishing was, the Dortmund defence deserves recognition.

Nico Schlotterbeck’s stunning assist from deep will grab the headlines, but Hummels’ leadership provided the structure for success.

At 35 years old we saw a player full of aggression at the right times and taking up intelligence positions that meant his lack of pace wasn’t exposed. We also saw his tremendous ability to spray passes that set his team forward at speed. We’re talking outside of the boot pingers to feet.

Dortmund are arguably the least favoured side left in the competition. It’s performances like this that will give them a chance against anybody. The entire team was excellent and deserves credit, especially after a dodgy season. They’ll need Hummels to repeat the feat next week.