PSG 2-0 Borussia Dortmund: 5 Hits and Flops as Parisians recover to book quarter-final berth

#2 Hit: Presnel Kimpembe

Dortmund made a mistake allowing Kimpembe to get settled in the early exchanges, as they soon found out

From the early minutes, Presnel Kimpembe set the tone with accurate, persistent distribution out from the back. Dortmund figured he and others besides could retain possession in non-threatening areas, after all, they had an aggregate lead to protect and didn't need to expend energy without reason.

This proved a serious mistake. Kimpembe quickly grew into the game, receiving multiple touches and even under pressure, had the confidence to foray into midfield and pick his forward passes more urgently as time wore on. That was precisely the encouragement he needed to deliver a much-needed dependable display, with his captain Thiago Silva (hamstring) watching on from the stands.

He worked well off-the-ball, with positioning and awareness key to shut out half-chances whenever Dortmund attacked down his side. His decision-making was sharp, completing important interceptions and tackles (4) while aerially dominant (8 of 12 total duels won), busy elsewhere (game-high 7 clearances) and keeping wonderkid Haaland quiet throughout.

As previously mentioned with those forays into midfield, he won a number of smart fouls (3) whenever the visitors looked to double up on him in promising situations, relieving pressure upon teammates while forcing BVB backwards.

In tightly-contested fixtures such as these, it's easy for forward players to earn all the plaudits for being goalscorers but Kimpembe shone from start-to-finish and importantly proved an invaluable cog in ensuring PSG kept their sixth Champions League clean sheet of the campaign, their most important one against one of Europe's most feared frontlines.