When all eyes were on Jadon Sancho in the first leg of the Champions League semi final against Paris Saint-Germain, Niclas Fullkrug did what had to be done. The striker found the back of the net inside 26 minutes after the game had started.
The 31-year old escaped the offside trap to control Nico Schlotterbeck’s long pass before slamming it into the bottom-left corner of Gianluigi Donnarumma. It was Fullkrug’s 15th goal this season and the third in the Champions League.
“It was an incredible atmosphere,” Fullkrug told DAZN after the game. “It always feels like you go into a game with a 1-0 lead. But we also suffered a lot today. They had phases where they put a lot of pressure on us. That’s inevitable against such a top team. Now it’s half-time. We’re still 90 minutes away from Wembley. But we remain humble.”
Borussia Dortmund vs PSG: Not bad for a Champions League debutant
The Hannover-born striker has now scored in two straight games in the Champions League this season. Fullkrug was one of the goal scorers in Dortmund’s dramatic comeback against Atletico Madrid in the quarter final.
Before that, Fullkrug put his name on the score sheet when playing against Newcastle United at home in the group stage. He opened the lead inside 30 minutes against The Magpies in a 2-0 victory.
In his first Champions League season, Fullkrug has an opportunity to add up his goal tally. If he manages to keep himself away from injury, it is likely that would start for the second leg at Parc des Princes next week.
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