Right, that’s all from me. Bye! Here’s a quick whistle report from Reuters:
Jadon Sancho and Marco Reus scored as Borussia Dortmund secured a 2-0 win over PSV Eindhoven and a Champions League last-eight place for the first time in three years with a 3-1 aggregate victory.
Sancho, on loan from Manchester United, threaded his shot through the legs of an Eindhoven player and in off the post for his second goal in two matches.
Eindhoven, who last reached the quarter-finals in 2007, improved after the break and substitute Hirving Lozano rattled the post with a missile from 25 metres. Johan Bakayoko dribbled past defender Mats Hummels but could not beat Dortmund keeper Gregor Kobel in the 70th minute. Dortmund had an effort by Niclas Fuellkrug ruled offside but Reus did better in stoppage time after Eindhoven had come close through Luuk de Jong.
Sancho is on the pitch, joining the lap of honour, clapping and waving at the crowd. He certainly doesn’t look like a man troubled by injury.
Jadon Sancho has a quick chat. A brief and a quick chat. The man speaks fast.
We knew it was going to be tough but we always had the advantage because we were playing in front of our home fans. I just knew from the dressing room team talk, we was on it. I’m just happy with the win.
On his injury:
Last time I played a home game I felt something, and I just didn’t want to risk it. We’re just going to check. Hopefully it’s nothing. It’s a hamstring, but I think it’s OK.
Daniel Harris is watching Atletico Madrid v Inter, which is set to go to extra time, the teams currently level at 2-2 on aggregate.
On general run of play PSV deserved at least a draw, and a chance at extra time and perhaps penalties. But on quality of final-third decision-making, their players all deserve immediate dismissal. It all added up to a frustrating and pretty poor game, and whoever gets drawn against the Germans when the quarter-final draw takes place in Nyon on Friday will find nothing but encouragement when they watch it.
Final score: Borussia Dortmund 2-0 PSV Eindhoven
90+5 mins: And it’s all over!
GOAL! Borussia Dortmund 2-0 PSV (Reus, 90+5 mins)
The goalkeeper biffs the ball downfield, Fullkrug heads it on but straight to a defender … but then Babadi falls over, and Reus runs clear and slots past Benitez! The goal is scored within 40 seconds of that De Jong miss!
Updated
90+4 mins: PSV miss the chance of the game! A long ball is nodded down by Pepi to De Jong, who plays a one-two with Teze, runs into the box, and sidefoots over the bar with the goal gaping!
Updated
90+4 mins: Lozano collects the ball on the left, cuts infield, and sends a poor shot straight at Kobel from 25 yards. The Mexican has been extraordinarily frustrating.
90+2 mins: According to Uefa’s stats, PSV have had 50 “attacks” and Dortmund 39. I don’t know how they define “attack”, but 89 seems to be rather a lot of them.
90+2 mins: Lozano crosses, but Kobel plucks the ball off the head of De Jong.
90+1 mins: There’ll be five minutes of stoppage time. Can PSV both get the ball into the box and do something decent with it when they get there?
90 mins: And another shot from PSV, Teze’s effort going wide of the far post this time.
90 mins: Another booking, Nmecha punished for a foul on Dest.
89 mins: From the free kick, Lozano curls a cross – yes - towards the near post, where it’s headed away.
88 mins: Sule fouls Lozano wide on the left, and earns the night’s first booking.
87 mins: An air of desperation has settled over PSV. They need a goal to take this to extra time, and Borussia are creaking.
86 mins: PSV’s Mauro Junior goes off, and Isaac Babadi comes on.
85 mins: PSV continue to threaten. Dortmund completely fail to defend a simple cross, the ball bumps off several players, another falls over, and it ends with De Jong shooting, inevitably, towards the near post, which is where Kobel is standing.
82 mins: PSV replace Joey Veerman with Ricardo Pepi.
81 mins: Benitez comes for a cross, runs into Fulkrug, drops the ball, and the referee very generously gives a free kick.
79 mins: Lozano spears another shot wide of the near post. PSV seem completely obsessed with smashing balls into side netting. Turns out Fulkrug was offside by about an inch of shirt-sleeve, a ludicrously tight margin.
78 mins: Disallowed! It’s a cracking ball in from Marco Reus, who produces the cross of the night within moments of coming off the bench. Fulkrug runs onto it, controls his half-volley brilliantly, and though it’s close to Benitez he can’t stop it. One person who can, though, is the VAR – that looked close.
NO GOAL! Still Borussia Dortmund 1-0 PSV
Against the run of play, the home side double their lead!
Updated
74 mins: That’s his game over. Marco Reus will come on shortly, as Sancho limps around the perimeter of the pitch towards the tunnel.
73 mins: Sancho is down and receiving treatment, potentially for a hamstring-style issue.
72 mins: Now they cross from the right, but De Jong, just beyond the far post, heads it straight off the pitch rather than back across goal.
71 mins: Nice build-up from PSV, and it ends with Bakayoko turning and lashing a high shot towards the near post, which Kobel tips wide!
70 mins: Malen comes off, and Karim Adeyemi comes on.
69 mins: Bakayoko crosses and this time the ball in finds De Jong, but he heads over the bar.
68 mins: Dortmund are playing very poorly at the moment, but PSV don’t seem to be good enough to punish them. Bakayoko cuts onto his left foot and has a rubbish shot.
66 mins: Lozano keeps cutting onto his right foot and then doing something rubbish. This time it’s a low and feeble cross, straight to a defender.
64 mins: Save! A good ball in this time from Malen, and Fulkrug, in lots of space, hammers a header at Benitez from eight yards or so when perhaps he could have taken it down.
62 mins: Lozano has another crack, cutting onto his right foot but shooting wide of the near post. There has nearly been lots of goalmouth incident in this game, but actually been very little.
61 mins: Once again the referee gives Borussia a corner and then changes his mind. He got it right in the end – the ball flicked off Ozcan on its way out.
58 mins: Julian Brandt is going off, and Felix Nmecha is coming on. Brandt has been in all the right places but done few of the right things.
56 mins: Save! PSV are looking bright, and now Teze pegs it into the area, Malen trailing in his wake, and is found by Bakayoko, but he shoots wide of the near post.
54 mins: Lozano hits the post with a brilliant, vicious 25-yarder! Really it never looked like it was going in, but it wasn’t far off.
53 mins: Malen takes on Teze, goes down, sits up to see if the referee has given him a free kick, sees he hasn’t, goes down again.
50 mins: It’s been a messy start to the half, people giving the ball away, fluffing simple passes, dribbling down dead ends.
48 mins: Chance for Dortmund! Brandt on the left passes inside to Sancho, who passes inside to Malen, whose shot on the turn deflects to Benitez.
Updated
46 mins: Peeeeeep! Hirving Lozano has entered the fray, replacing Guus Til.
In Dortmund, the players are on their way back out.
Meanwhile, a bonkers game in the Premier League – Luton 3-0 up at half-time, Bournemouth equalise in the 65th minute. Luton have only had five shots in total; Bournemouth have had 18.
Half time: Borussia Dortmund 1-0 PSV Eindhoven
45+1 mins: The corner is headed clear and the referee – who has given very few free kicks, to his credit, and has thus limited stoppages – blows his whistle after barely 30 seconds of added time.
45 mins: A spell of PSV pressure before the break. Teze’s cross is headed behind for a corner.
43 mins: Close! Mauro Junior runs into space on the right of Borussia’s penalty area, and the ball inside to De Jong looks quite straightforward – but for some reason he blasts the ball a yard in the air and a yard behind his teammate, whose improvised volley floats off target.
40 mins: Malen is avoiding Brandt’s crossing issue by never crossing, and just having a succession of poor shots from unpromising wide positions. The latest crashes into the side netting.
36 mins: While PSV have improved, Sancho has fallen quiet. Almost oll of Borussia’s attacking is happening down their right flank, where Brandt keeps producing poor crosses.
34 mins: Another low, long-range shot from PSV, another easy stop for Kobel.
33 mins: We appear to now have a game, rather than a procession. PSV still haven’t had much of a goal threat, but it doesn’t look far away.
31 mins: Bakayoko cuts in from the right, but his run ends with a shot that flies hard and low, straight to Kobel.
29 mins: PSV are having a spell. The last three or four minutes have been encouraging, though also chanceless.
Updated
27 mins: Now Dest blasts a 25-yarder way over the bar.
26 mins: An excellent pass from Sabitzer to Malen, but his shot is wide of the far post and perhaps he’d have been better off crossing/passing/doing something else.
23 mins: Sergino Dest takes on Niklas Sule on the PSV left, and this looks a promising match-up for the Dutch side if they can keep finding it. On this occasion Sule slides in to concede a corner, from which PSV eventually conjure their first, not very threatening, shot on target.
20 mins: The first 20 minutes of this game have been extraordinarily one-sided. Borussia could be three up, easy.
18 mins: Sancho goes on another great run, though this one also ends with him running the ball into touch. The referee initially gives a corner, but then changes his mind.
18 mins: Here’s that Sancho trick. Yum.
Jadon Sancho is enjoying himself tonight 😮💨
— Football on TNT Sports (@footballontnt) March 13, 2024
Twinkle toes ✨#UCL
📺 @tntsports & @discoveryplusUK pic.twitter.com/zGuADCu7fa
16 mins: Double save from Benitez! Brandt’s shot is from way wide and really he should do better than shovel it to the edge of the six-yard box, where Marlon appears after a late sprint and blasts the rebound straight at the PSV keeper.
15 mins: A lovely ball into the box almost brings a chance for PSV, but Tilman can’t control, spin and shoot in the time available to him.
13 mins: A gorgeous touch from Sancho befuddles Johan Bakayoko. He then dribbles the ball out of play, but still.
13 mins: I think that looks like a trip, and therefore a penalty. The VAR, Paolo Valeri, disagrees.
12 mins: Now Malan goes down in the box, but Orsato isn’t interested.
12 mins: Another half-chance for the home side. Malen’s low ball finds Fulkrug, but he’s forced a bit wide and his effort is neither cross nor shot, and goes well wide.
10 mins: Borussia players have run into the referee, Daniele Orsato, twice in the last couple of minutes. The fans whistle and jeer as he gesticulates his innocence.
8 mins: A good run from Sancho down the left. Hummels flicks it on in front of the near post, but it’s cleared before Fulkrug can get to it.
7 mins: Brandt’s corner is poor, and headed clear.
6 mins: Well this is going almost as badly as it possibly could for PSV. They’ve already conceded two decent chances, one actual goal, done next to nothing themselves and now they’re defending a corner.
GOAL! Borussia Dortmund 1-0 PSV (Sancho, 3 mins)
An early lead for Borussia, and another goal for Sancho! A cross from Maatsen is not quite cleared and it’s eventually nudged back to Sancho, who is given time to line up a shot from 20 yards and what his effort lacks in pace it makes up for in accuracy, rolling just inside the near post!
Updated
2 mins: Nearly a chance! Then actually a chance, and a save! First Brandt nearly breaks through, then Maatsen does, but his left-footed blast is tipped over the bar!
1 min: Peeeeeeeep! The home side get the ball rolling.
Dortmund huddle. Football moments away.
The players are on their way out. The house is packed and it looks like a fabulous place to be. And if you can’t be there you might as well watch the people who are.
Updated
Edin Terzic has a chat:
We knew we needed to bring it down to one game at home and tonight we have the opportunity to step into the next round with a good performance. I think we had a decent start [in the first leg] and we managed to score a goal in the early stages, but then we didn’t create momentum where we used this lead to break them down on counter-attacks and create wave after wave. This is something we need to improve, that once we take the lead we keep going.
This is what he’s got to say on Sancho, and whether his goal at the weekend is a sign that he’s back to his best:
It was his first goal, not his last goal, we’re quite sure about that. We knew he’d had a difficult time this season and it would take some time to get back on this level, but I think he’s shown he’s full of joy and he wants to help us, and then it’s a matter of time before he starts to shine again. Jadon is a better player when he’s smiling instead of thinking. We’re going to support him. Nothing’s going to be left in the tank today – we need him to be ready from the start and as long as possible, if it’s 60 minutes, 90 minutes, we don’t know.
Updated
Jadon Sancho will, as ever, be the focus of attention. He scored the first goal of his second spell at Borussia during the 2-1 win over Werder Bremen at the weekend, but his stats in the first leg were, well, not the best. He has admitted that “I’ve disappointed some people a bit in recent weeks”, but has the corner been turned?
Jadon Sancho’s game by numbers vs. PSV:
— Statman Dave (@StatmanDave) February 20, 2024
71% pass accuracy
12 times possession lost
1 offside
0 shots
0 chances created
0 goals
0 assists
Tough night. 🫠 pic.twitter.com/DO9mqiWpZH
The teams
Team news is in, and the line-ups look like this:
Borussia Dortmund: Kobel, Sule, Can, Hummels, Maatsen, Ozcan, Sabitzer, Malen, Brandt, Sancho, Fullkrug. Subs: Bensebaini, Nmecha, Reus, Duranville, Wolf, Moukoko, Adeyemi, Meyer, Laurenz Lotka, Watjen, Bynoe-Gittens.
PSV: Benitez, Teze, Schouten, Boscagli, Dest, Veerman, Til, Junior, Bakayoko, de Jong, Tillman. Subs: Sambo, Obispo, Ramalho, Bella-Kotchap, Pepi, Drommel, Waterman, Babadi, Lozano, van Aanholt, Land, Ledezma.
Referee: Daniele Orsato (Italy).
Unsere Startelf für #BVBPSV! 🔥 pic.twitter.com/RmERR39dWA
— Borussia Dortmund (@BVB) March 13, 2024
Champions League 𝐗𝐈 💫
— PSV (@PSV) March 13, 2024
Joey is starting 🤌#BVBPSV #UCL pic.twitter.com/k2kThllB5D
Preamble
Hello world! It’s all to play for at Signal Iduna Park, after a 1-1 draw in a first leg that PSV probably shaded but couldn’t win – “An open game, very intense,” according to their coach, Peter Bosz, once of Dormund. The Dutch side have cantered to a 10-point lead in the Eredivisie, have lost just once since November in all competitions and in Luuk de Jong have the top scorer in Dutch football (encouragingly, PSV haven’t been involved in a goalless draw since January 2023, and before that not since April 2022), and it was the Dutchman who equalised for them in the first game. True fact alert: PSV have won six and lost seven of their European knockout ties against German teams, which is quite a handy record, but they have only ever won a single European game in Germany – and they have lost 14. Donyell Malen, who scored Borussia’s goal in the first leg (and once of PSV) said yesterday he considers his side to be favourites, but then perhaps he shouldn’t be listened to, given he also came up with the following: “We haven’t been thinking about a penalty shootout, but of course we’ve been practising.” So not thinking about them, but practising them. Right, sure. Got it.
Kick-off: 8pm GMT, 9pm local
