Erling Haaland scored twice to give Borussia Dortmund a 2-1 home win and the advantage in their UEFA Champions League last-16 tie with Paris Saint-Germain.
Borussia Dortmund 2-1 Paris Saint-Germain
Goals: 1-0 Haaland (69′), 1-1 Neymar (75′), 2-1 Haaland (77′)
Dortmund set a ferocious pace from the outset, but had to wait until over midway into the half to test PSG goalkeeper Keylor Navas. England international Jadon Sancho provided the first opening of note, crossing into the arms of the visiting custodian, before forcing him to dive full stretch with a fine curling strike. Thorgan Hazard went up for a header soon after, but couldn’t direct his effort on target. BVB continued to ask questions of the competition’s stingiest defence as Haaland drove into the side netting and headed wide, but PSG survived and will doubtless have been grateful to hear the half-time whistle.
Kylian Mbappe and Neymar had barely had a sniff, but Dortmund were indebted to goalkeeper Roman Bürki for keeping the scores level just past the hour. The Swiss stopper pulled off two strong saves from Mbappe, before Neymar put the follow-up to the second attempt wide. It would have been harsh on Dortmund, but they got the goal their performance so richly deserved when Achraf Hakimi tore down the right and crossed for Haaland to slam home from close range. Neymar reduced the arrears, but the night belonged to Dortmund and Haaland, who collected a pass from teenaged substitute Gio Reyna and thundered in from 18 yards to put the tie in black-and-yellow hands ahead of the second leg in Paris on 11 March.
