Given the fact that one team is located in Germany and the other is in France, it is fair to say that Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-German don’t tend to play against one another all that often. In actual fact, the clubs only have a reason to meet when they are in European competition.
The quality of the two sides means that the games often promise some excitement, but how have they actually panned out when they have met? Has one team tended to be the more dominant, or is it mostly honours-even when you break things down? Which of the games have been the real standout ones from their battles over the years?
Looking at the Results
Here is a look at how Borussia Dortmund and PSG have got on when they have come up against one another, including which competition it is that they were playing in at the time:
Date Competition Location Final Score
21/10/2010 Europa League Group Game Westfalenstadion Borussia Dortmund 1-1 Paris Saint-Germain
04/11/2010 Europa League Group Game Parc des Princes Paris Saint-Germain 0-0 Borussia Dortmund
18/02/2020 Champions League Last 16 First-Leg Westfalenstadion Borussia Dortmund 2-1 Paris Saint-Germain
11/03/2020 Champions League Last 16 Second-Leg Parc des Princes Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 Borussia Dortmund
19/09/2023 Champions League Group Game Parc des Princes Paris Saint-Germain 2-0 Borussia Dortmund
13/12/2023 Champions League Group Game Westfalenstadion Borussia Dortmund 1-1 Paris Saint-Germain
01/05/2024 Champions League Semi-Final First-Leg Westfalenstadion Borussia Dortmund 1-0 Paris Saint-Germain
07/05/2024 Champions League Semi-Final Second-Leg Parc des Princes Paris Saint-Germain 0-1 Borussia Dortmund
Key Games
Having played each other a relative handful of times, it is fair to say that Borussia Dortmund and Paris Saint-Germain don’t exactly have a history filled with intense battles. Even so, there have been more than couple of games that were important, given the fact that they were played out in the Champions League, which is the top European club competition. Here is a look at how those crucial matches played out:
Champions League Last 16 First-Leg – 18/02/2020
With both the German and the French team looking to secure their place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League in the 2019-2020 iteration of the competition, hoping to eventually win it, tensions were high in the first-leg of the last 16 match. Borussia Dortmund were the hosts, welcoming back Thomas Tuchel for the first time since the manager was sacked after spending two seasons at the Westfalenstadion. Boasting both Kylian Mbappe and Neymar, Paris Saint-Germain were a frightening prospect, but Dortmund were no slouches and actually took the lead through a certain Erling Braut Haaland in the 69th minute.
FT: Dortmund 2-1 PSG
PSG are in danger of being eliminated at this stage for the 4th straight season. pic.twitter.com/yaprHibMPd
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) February 18, 2020
PSG, though, knew how to score a goal, having found the back of the net 44 times in 12 games. With one of Dortmund’s defenders being 20-year-old Dan-Axel Zagadou, it wasn’t a given that they would be able to keep a clean sheet. Indeed, it was those two talented forward for the French side that were Dortmund’s undoing, with Neymar sending home an Mbappe cross to draw them level. Haaland wanted to steal the headlines, however, and scored a second goal thanks to a strong finish that Keylor Navas barely had time to register. It was advantage Borussia Dortmund heading into the second-leg, but would they be able to hold onto it?
Champions League Last 16 Second-Leg – 11/03/2020
It was just a few weeks later that the two teams met back up at the Parc des Princes, with Tuchel keen to get one over on his former team. Having been knocked out in the round of 16 for the previous three seasons in succession, there was a sense of inevitability that Paris Saint-Germain would bite the bullet again. The ground was empty owing to the global health crisis of the time, meaning that no one inside the stadium got to celebrate when Neymar gave the home side a 1-0 league on the night, drawing them level on aggregate. In spite of the ban inside the ground, supporters celebrated on the streets outside.
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Psg X Borussia #championsleague #futebol #psg #borussiadortmund
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Juan Bernat put the French club in a position to finally break its last 16 curse when he turned Pablo Sarabia’s ball into the Dortmund net to put PSG 3-2 up on aggregate and have one foot in the quarter-finals. Towards the end of the game their progression was all but guaranteed when Emre Can was sent off for two bookable offences in quick succession. Thomas Tuchel had his side on the front foot from the get-go and it paid off. They would go on to face Atalanta in the quarters before beating RB Leipzig in the semis, eventually losing to another German opponent in Bayern Munich in the final, but it all started with a win over Dortmund over two legs.
Champions League Semi-Final First-Leg – 01/05/2024
Having lost out on the chance to face Bayern Munich in the Champions League when Borussia Dortmund lost to Paris Saint-Germain four years earlier, the German side were keen to make up for things when they drew the same opponents in the semi-final stage of the 2023-2024 version of the competition. The first-leg was once again held at the Westfalenstadion, with ‘frenetic’ being the word that best described what took place. It was PSG that controlled much of the first-half of action but failed to convert a number of chances to take the lead. That was punished by Niclas Fullkrug in the 36th minute courtesy of a left-footed shot.
🇪🇺⚽🏆 Jadon Sancho was the star of the show as Borussia Dortmund edged PSG 1-0 in a pulsating Champions League semi-final first leg through Niclas Fullkrug's fine winner.
— Talk Football (@talkfootball.bsky.social) 2024-05-01T21:36:37.359Z
Having already faced each other twice earlier in the season in the group stage of the competition, Paris Saint-Germain will understandably have felt as though they could get back into the game; after all, the group game at the Westfalenstadion has finished 1-1. Although Mbappe hit the post and former Dortmund player Hakimi did the same thing, the French side simply couldn’t find the goal that they needed to make things level for when the game went back to the French capital. Instead, Dortmund will have felt hard done to that they weren’t awarded a penalty when the goalscorer was nudged in the back as the ball came across the box.
Champions League Semi-Final Second-Leg – 07/05/2024
Six days later and the action moved to the Parc des Princes for the second-leg. With Bayern Munich’s first-leg against Real Madrid having ended 2-2 in Germany and the second-leg due to take place the following day, an all-German final at Wembley Stadium was a definite possibility. It looked as though it was going to be the French side heading to the final, however, when Warren Zaire-Emery was presented with a great chance to give PSG the lead from close range, instead volleying against the post early in the second-half. It was to be the German team that would take the lead, however, courtesy of a Mats Hummels header.
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Paris Saint-Germain had never been champions of Europe and thought that they had been given a lifeline when Daniele Orsato, the match referee, pointed to the penalty spot after Hummels had been ruled to have fouled Ousmane Dembele. He immediately changed his mind, however, deciding that the foul had taken place outside the penalty area. What followed was an excellent defensive display from Dortmund, keeping the French at bay as they held on to set up what would indeed be an all-German final. Having also faced Bayern Munich at Wembley 11 years earlier, the same loss was forthcoming this time around too.