Fullkrug strike gives Dortmund slender advantage over PSG

Niclas Fullkrug's powerful strike gave the Germans the advantage before they cross the Ardennes next week

Backed by the famous Die gelbe Wand (the Yellow Wall), Borussia Dortmund defeated PSG 1-0 thanks to Niclas Fullkrug's first-half strike.

The result means the German side hold the advantage as they look to reach theirfirst UEFA Champions League Final since 2013, as the players responded by producing a brave performance that saw them emphatically match the Ligue 1 champions.

The Westfalenstadion and Edin Terzic were delighted at the performance, spurring the home side on and the stadium erupted into jubilation when Fullkrug opened the scoring with some classic centre-forward play in the 36th minute.

A long ball dropped behind the PSG defence, allowing the German to begin the chase. When the 31-year-old got the ball he shrugged off the defender, controlled the ball and fired low past Gianluigi Donnarumma at his right-hand side to give the home side the advantage going into the break.

It was a half where Luis Enrique's side lacked their identity and commitment as they only mustered up three shots before the break, but the side who became champions at the weekend were always going to respond, and they should have been level in the 51st minute.

The chance came when Kylian Mbappe cut inside and used his trademark shot to fire an effort that cannoned off the inside of the post. Just seconds later Achraf Hakimi also hit the left post too with a low effort beforeFabian Ruiz got his header all wrong with the goal gaping.

The game had opened up and exploded into life as both sides began to form good chances but proved to be tantalizingly wasteful, passing up chances to take a commanding advantage into the second leg of the game.

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