and hello to you from a city that's never short of style i'm talking of course about the french
capital paris we're at the pak de pass my name is derrick ray and i'm joined for commentary
by the former arsenal and west ham player stuart robson and we've got champions league semi-final
first leg action coming right up for you it's paris saint-germain facing borussia dortmund
well this is what the champions league is all about some of the world's best players
two excellent teams and a great stadium let's hope we're not disappointed
so
and here is the initial 11 for paris as your map john luigi donnarumma begins in goal marquinhos
plays with sergio ramos at the back lionel messi starts with neymar in the wide positions
and lining up through the middle in attack today is kylian mbappe
and introducing the borussia dortmund side raphael guerrero starts with thomas minie as full
alongside marco voice in central midfield and so many different ways to configure an attack
in this case it'll be two men up front
and underway now in this champions league semi-final first leg
under herrera and now gay versi
neymar
and they continue to advance and a lot of options here
but a good piece of defending to bring it to an end
hold on
danielle malin
a really top-notch piece of defending
messi
a bit of running room now on the wing well beating his opponents
well he has caused to be grateful to his teammate
the ball with marco rice
it is to be a throw in
marquinhos onto herrera and he's won the ball
can they take the lead and a goalkeeper in great form
and he's just pulled off an absolutely stunning save there that is brilliant
and overcomes the corner from the struggle to get it away properly
well he's gone back to give the free kick the
referee here he tried to play advantage but it didn't accrue
and cleared away
jude bellingham and fed forwards under the effect of shielding under pressure
and bellingham
axel ritzel
in position a good defending cluttered out of there
possession changes hands the interception there oh that's a super ball over the top hold on
this is a voice and that's how to break the spirit of the attacker
leonel messi
couldn't hang on to it
would be a bit annoyed to have lost the ball
ho
can they take the lead here
it's got to be the clearance wasn't decisive
and i think the threat has been averted
and that is that for the first half here on the french capital
second half of this champions league semi-final first leg underway
and touched onto the frame of the goal
danielle malin and there to intervene
and threaded through by embafe just needs to stay calm can they slot it home and the keeper getting
across to stop it well they've been quite for a while now but this has got them going
over it comes
behind for another corner can they cash in
corner kick played in
well in the end it was rather straightforward for
the goalkeeper stuart well he has to do better there that's a really poor finish
ellen horner mini man he's won the ball
and threading it forward an especially strong challenge and throwing himself up the ball
substitution it is for dortmund
the delivery from neymar no real chance for him well he attacked it
so well and made good contact but he just couldn't keep it down could he
psg are going to switch things around on the personnel front
he give him the advantage and the keeper did magnificently
well that's just a wonderful save how did he stop that
and over comes the corner well i struggle to get it away properly
i just missed that little bit of attacking spark goalkeeper's ball
neymar
they might see the wide route as a fruitful one psg
the opening statement of this semi-final how important could that prove to be
well here it is again and what a perfect cross into the box this is just inviting someone to
attack it and it's a comfortable finish in the end which is made to look so easy it's a lovely goal
me
what a big moment in the dying embers will it prove decisive here
rice an encouraging move from dartmouth
and the cross is very much on not quite the clearance they were hoping for
and they can't quite take advantage in the end
well possession seeded
and it's a matter of what occurs in the final 15 minutes oh nice ball over the top to chase
no worries for the keeper not the best challenge free kick
and it goes a well-taken penalty
well this is a brilliant strike as you can see he hits it with so much power
the keeper had no chance fantastic finish
even steven won a piece on this match
ten minutes to left for play in this match
hakimi it's a weighted pass able to close down the shorts a very significant paddy sergio mancorno
late in the game and dortmund will go to the bench fired in by neymar and the no-nonsense clearance
well beaten easily here neymar ready routine really
hold on
and dortmund committed to getting forward can they grab a late winner but nothing comes a bit
well the counter chance looks very real well the atmosphere is electric
at the moment but can psg reward their fans with a winner you sense it might be coming
and the electronic board has been held aloft three additional minutes here
how about the cross
and the seams are level and every corner counts at this juncture
and delivered by rafael guerrero only failed to get it away properly and there's the final whistle
a thoroughly entertaining semi-final first leg and i must say stuart it bodes well for the
return match yeah fantastic first 90 minutes wasn't it exactly what you want to see at
this stage of the competition let's just hope they can replicate that in the reverse fixture
well he often cuts the figure of a thinking person's footballer
and stewart he's thought his way throughout this match yeah he was their best player
today and it was no surprise that he got the equalizer it was a really good finish