Champions League: Dembele the scapegoat as Dortmund beats PSG

Manchester United legends turned pundits Rio Ferdinand and Owen Hargreaves slammed ‘terrible’ Ousmane Dembele after PSG’s Champions League semi-final defeat to Borussia Dortmund.

The French champions were aiming to reach their second Champions League final but were frustrated by a Dortmund side sitting just fifth in the Bundesliga.

Borussia Dortmund, winners in 1997 and finalists in 2013 beat PSG 1-0 in the first leg at home and won by the same scoreline in Paris to reach next month’s final at Wembley.

It was another frustrating night for PSG, who hit the woodwork four times after doing so twice in Dortmund, as Mats Hummels’ second-half header separated the sides.

Much of the focus in the post-match analysis was around Kylian Mbappe’s subdued performance across the two legs but Ferdinand and Hargreaves were more alarmed by Dembele.

Discussing Mbappe’s struggles against Dortmund, Ferdinand said on TNT Sports: ‘I thought he was really quiet over the two legs. Dortmund handled him well.

‘This is unusual for Mbappe, we’re used to seeing him stepping up in the biggest moments and the biggest games. All through his career, he’s stepped up but he was subdued over the two legs.

 ‘He wasn’t decisive, he wasn’t clinical. But you need to give Dortmund massive credit because they never allowed him to get one one-on-one.

‘I think more credit has to go to the team in yellow because Dortmund and the manager deserve so much credit.’

Ferdinand’s former Manchester United team-mate Hargreaves then interrupted and asked: ‘How poor was Dembele today?’

The former England centre-back then said: ‘He was terrible.’

Borussia Dortmund will face Real Madrid or Bayern Munich in the Champions League final. That semi-final tie is finely poised at 2-2 ahead of the second leg at the Bernabeu.

Reserving more praise for Dortmund following their win in the French capital, Hargreaves said: ‘The goalkeeper Gregor Kobel made big saves. Niclas Fullkrug was a great outlet for Dortmund and the whole team is a proper team – exceptional performance.

 ‘They are 24 points behind Bayer Leverkusen in the Bundesliga and they are getting to a Champions League final.’

Ferdinand, meanwhile, said of Dortmund’s display: ‘Individuals performing all over the pitch, the two Dortmund centre-backs [Mats Hummels and Nico Schlotterbeck] were the man of the match.

‘Dortmund were a team looking confident knowing what the task was. Dortmund made this PSG team look average.’