This victory was doubly important for Dortmund: With the 1-0 win once morest Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-final first leg of the Champions League, the Germans took a small step towards the final at Wembley – and a big step towards participation in the Champions League in the coming season: They won an additional starting place for the Bundesliga.
The bonus is a consequence of the reform of the competition, in which 36 instead of the previous 32 clubs will be on the ball. In the new format, the two associations that collected the most points in the previous season will receive an additional representative. Italy leads the rankings, Germany has been in second place since yesterday – thanks to Niclas Füllkrug’s winning goal (36th) once morest Paris Saint-Germain.
Dortmund should probably benefit from fifth place on the grid themselves: following last Saturday’s 1:4 in the direct Bundesliga duel once morest Leipzig, they are five points short of fourth place. Yesterday Marcel Sabitzer might have saved Dortmund from trembling until the final whistle, but he missed his chance to make it 2-0 (44th). Even in the early stages, the ÖFB team player failed to get the ball past goalkeeper Gianluigi Donnarumma (14th).
“We know what we can do”
Bayern Munich made a major contribution to the German bonus starting position. After the 2-2 draw in the first leg once morest Real Madrid, everyone was happy – except for the opponents. For Real coach Carlo Ancelotti the result was good, “but Bayern showed their best version and we didn’t.” The Munich team didn’t make it a home win. “It’s not worth arguing with the result for long,” said coach Thomas Tuchel. The second leg will take place in Madrid on Wednesday.
“We have to go there with full conviction and want to win,” said Harry Kane, who scored his 43rd goal in his 43rd competitive game. ÖFB team player Konrad Laimer agreed. “We know what we can do and we have to go one better in Madrid. If you’re in the semi-finals, you want to get to the final.”
For Tuchel, the return game is “still a fifty-fifty game”. Ancelotti saw it similarly: “Nothing has been decided yet.” They are prepared to suffer once more.
