Champions League Semifinal: Home comforts can help PSG overturn Dortmund deficit, says Luis Enrique

Paris St Germain is not used to playing the return leg at home in this season’s Champions League and coach Luis Enrique hopes its fans will make the difference when it tries to overturn a 1-0 semi-final deficit against Borussia Dortmund next week.

Dortmund’s Niclas Fuellkrug fired in a first-half goal to seal victory over visitors PSG, which had more possession throughout Wednesday’s game but could not take its chances.

While PSG beat Barcelona in the quarters and Real Sociedad in the last 16, playing the second leg away both times, Luis Enrique knows its home fans could be crucial if it is to reach the final at Wembley on June 1.

“We saw an even match with two teams that play good football when they have the ball,” Luis Enrique told a press conference on Wednesday.

“We both created many scoring chances. This time our opponents scored and we didn’t. The result reflects how close the game was.

“In the last two rounds, they had the home game as their second game, whereas it was the other way round for us. Now it’s a different and new scenario, we’ll have the crowd on our side in the second leg.

“I would have liked to create the chances we have created, but you have to be effective to score. We’ll see what version we show in Paris.”

MATCH REPORT – Fuellkrug earns Dortmund 1-0 first-leg win over PSG

Despite creating more chances after the break, PSG lost without scoring for the first time across all competitions this season.

“We missed our chances in the second half,” PSG defender Achraf Hakimi told Canal+.

“We knew what they were going to do, with long through balls. We were very focused, the coach repeated it all week.”

PSG has progressed from two of its previous four Champions League knockout ties when losing the first leg, with the first of those coming against Borussia Dortmund in the last 16 in 2019-20.

“We’ve come back from 1-0 down before,” added PSG captain Marquinhos.

“We’ve shown that we can do it, especially at home, with the energy of our supporters, it’s going to be a different scenario. We know we can do a lot better. We just need to take our chances and be more decisive.

“We conceded a goal that we shouldn’t have conceded, and we’ve been talking all week about these deep passes from this Borussia team. It’s the details that make all the difference, and we’re going to do better in the next game if we want to go through.”