The 1-0 win against the heavy favourites  in the semi-final first leg came courtesy of a cohesive team performance. 27 years ago, this narrow scoreline sufficed against Manchester United, who then had the stars of the football world on their books.

This time, the opponent is Paris Saint-Germain. And this time too, the return leg will be away – in Paris next Tuesday. In the cauldron that is SIGNAL IDUNA PARK, Borussia Dortmund nudged open the door to Wembley on national "Labour Day". "Now we simply have to get through Paris," said Mats Hummels, who continued: "We want to get there, that's the clear objective. Tuesday will be another extremely tough one. If you want to reach the final, you have to get through this too."

The team cannot take the "Yellow Wall" with them. According to the Spanish newspaper "As", it was a big factor in the first leg. "Mbappé came up against a wall – it was a yellow one that sent Borussia soaring," wrote the paper. "They outplayed the French club in all aspects of the game, expressed an intensity as made it look like it was the last game of their lives and ultimately won by a minimal margin thanks to a deadly strike from Füllkrug." BVB boss Hans-Joachim Watzke was full of praise, saying: "The unbelievable solidarity between the fans and the team at our stadium was once again palpable and served as the basis for the triumph. Our fans proved once again this evening why the South Stand and the atmosphere at the stadium are famous across the world and feared by our opponents."

The balance of play was similar in 1997. Manchester United missed several chances to score. Back then it was Martin Kree who intervened on the line with Stefan Klos beaten; on this occasion, the post twice came to the aid of Gregor Kobel whose goal "seemed to be doused in holy water," as The Guardian put it, adding approvingly: "But perhaps Dortmund deserved their luck." (br)