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Borussia Dortmund entered the UEFA Champions League for the first time since 2013.
Borussia Dortmund manager Edin Terzic says his team deserved to reach the Champions League semi-finals following a thrilling 4-2 second-leg win against Atletico Madrid, which saw the Germans advance 5-4 on aggregate.
Dortmund was trailing 2-1 after the first leg, but goals from Julian Brandt and Ian Maatsen put them ahead 2-0 at halftime.
Atletico manager Diego Simeone made three changes at halftime, including bringing in Angel Correa, and his enthusiasm was evident immediately, with Mats Hummels conceding a horrible own goal before the Argentine scored to put Atletico back ahead in the tie.
However, those goals sparked a sluggish Dortmund, with Niclas Fullkrug and Marcel Sabitzer each netting in a three-minute span to propel the Bundesliga team through.
“Extremely happy, extremely satisfied and very, very proud of the team and the club,” Terzic said in a statement. “The atmosphere in the stadium was fantastic.
“Despite being hurt twice, we never lost faith and stayed true to our strengths.
We advanced to the semi-finals based on our performance in both matches. “This is a huge deal for our club.”
Borussia Dortmund to Face PSG in the Semi-Final
Former champions Dortmund, who are now sixth in the German Bundesliga and trying to qualify for next season’s Champions League, will meet Paris Saint-Germain in the final at Wembley on June 1.
Dortmund and PSG met in the group stage, with the French champions winning 2-0 at home and the Germans drawing 1-1 at the Westfalenstadion.
However, Dortmund finished first in Group F. “We have previously played against PSG twice. Terzic stated, “We did not enjoy the first game in Paris at all.”
“The second encounter in Dortmund was extremely different, close once again, but we came closer to victory than they did.
“We’re a stronger team than we were in September or December.
Dortmund had a chance to equalize after three minutes, but Sabitzer’s extra touch allowed Atletico to recover.
With an 80,000-strong home crowd hoping to outdo last week’s excitement in Madrid, the hosts scored on 34 minutes. Brandt collected a Hummels chip and shot on the spin, the ball bouncing between Jan Oblak’s hands.
