The Paris Saint-Germain is counting on Kylian Mbappé to continue its journey in the Champions League. Facing PSG, Dortmund also wants to humiliate Qatar.
If it’s not a Champions League final, it looks a bit like it anyway. To finish first in its group and especially to secure a place in the round of 16 without even waiting for the result of Newcastle-Milan, the French champions must win at the Signal Iduna Park. Facing Kylian Mbappé and his teammates, there will be the eleven players of Borussia Dortmund, but also the 60,000 German supporters unanimously motivated to support their club, but also to spoil PSG and especially its main shareholder, Qatar. It is no exaggeration to say that the fans of the yellow wall hate the owners of Paris Saint-Germain, and they do not hide it. So this Wednesday evening, Kylian Mbappé can expect a very hot evening, the French star being considered the standard-bearer of Qatari investments in the French capital. “Here, it is not even worth imagining the club advertising for Qatar Airways on the jersey. People who love football love to see Mbappé play, but they would love to see Qatar eliminated on Wednesday,” Patrick Berger, who works for the German sports channel Sport 1, told Le Parisien.
Les Parisiens sont au stade pour l’entraînement de veille de match. 🏟️#BVBPSG I #UCL pic.twitter.com/ehCmcxwCbb
— Paris Saint-Germain (@PSG_inside) December 12, 2023
Referees, wages, Qatar is Satan for Dortmund
Even the legends of German football hope to see PSG cry tears of joy this Wednesday at around 11:00 pm in Dortmund. Matthias Sammer, who had great times under the Borussia jersey, is even more incisive when talking about the Ligue 1 leader, whom he makes the devil of football. “At first glance, when you see the wage structure at PSG, you can only shake your head in despair. There is a real distortion in terms of competition. We are not fighting on equal terms and in the end it is unfair (…) The penalty for Paris in the first leg, I thought it was a total misjudgement of the hand of Süle. This kind of referee always favors the biggest clubs,” said the man who is now a consultant for BVB89 before the decisive match for Paris Saint-Germain, but not really for the German club, which is qualified for the next round of the Champions League but wants to secure first place in the group.
In a press conference, Edin Terzic did not want to get involved in this Dortmund-Qatar story, the 41-year-old coach simply talking about Kylian Mbappé, who is capable of single-handedly climatizing the Signal Iduna Park. “Kylian Mbappé can only be stopped collectively. One-on-one, it will be difficult. It’s about finding the right combination and supporting each other (…) Talking about revenge from the first leg doesn’t motivate me. It’s the desire to win matches. It’s a fascinating group until the end. We want to live up to our responsibilities in the group,” warned the Borussia Dortmund coach, in order to calm everyone down a bit. Nasser Al-Khelaifi, who will be present in the stands of the German stadium, hopes however to be able to smile at the end of the match. The Qatari leader of PSG has rarely had the chance to do so in the Champions League in recent seasons, and if it is in Qatar’s enemy territory, he will appreciate it even more.
The match is set to be a tense affair, with both sides eager to win. PSG will be looking to secure first place in the group, while Dortmund will be looking to avenge their 2-1 defeat in the first leg. Mbappé will be the key player for PSG, and the German fans will be hoping to make life difficult for him.
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