The academy product provided a crucial equalising goal to save his side, with Randal Kolo Muani particularly profligate up front in Germany
Warren Zaire-Emery was the homegrown hero for Paris Saint-Germain on Wednesday night, with his deflected strike proving crucial as the Parisians salvaged a point against Borussia Dortmund to qualify for the Champions League knockout stages. After going down 1-0, Zaire-Emery grabbed the vital goal for PSG after a wonderful piece of set-up play from Kylian Mbappe, levelling the game at 1-1 to finish second in their group – albeit in unconvincing fashion.
Without a win, PSG were always going to be at the mercy of results elsewhere. Things mercifully changed in the other fixture – the Parisians mathematically doomed one minute, then saved the next.
In a breathless contest, Karim Ademyemi grabbed the game’s first goal early in the second half. It started with an Achraf Hakimi error as the full-back was dispossessed high up the pitch – a sequence that resulted with an easy finish for Adeyemi. The Parisians responded swiftly, though, as Zaire-Emery burst into the box and blasted the ball home.
PSG thought they had grabbed a potential winner, but Mbappe was ruled fractionally offside after finding the bottom corner. It mattered little in the end as both sides settled for a point apiece, with results elsewhere meaning both scraped out of a gripping group.
GOAL rates PSG’s players from Signal Iduna Park…
Goalkeeper & Defence
Gianluigi Donnarumma (6/10):
Made an instinctive save to keep his side in it halfway through the first half. Provided a few more stops. Couldn’t do anything about the goal.
Achraf Hakimi (4/10):
Played an awful backpass to gift Dortmund the opener. Blasted a free-kick over shortly after. A dire showing.
Marquinhos (5/10):
Looked slow against Dortmund’s quick wingers. Picked up a silly yellow. Not his best after coming back from an injury.
Milan Skriniar (6/10):
Up for a real scrap, and did most of his defending in relative comfort. Looks a good signing.
Lucas Hernandez (5/10):
A physical performance at left-back. Flew into tackles, relished his 50/50s. Didn’t offer enough at the other end.
Midfield
Vitinha (5/10):
Misused as a No.6. Didn’t offer much physicality and allowed Dortmund to play through the middle with ease.
Warren Zaire-Emery (8/10):
A wonderful performance in central midfield, grabbed himself a vital goal. Looked much better when moved into a more advanced role. A teenage hero!
Lee Kang-In (5/10):
Somehow dragged a simple chance wide in the first half, and was reasonably quiet after that. Not his best showing.
Attack
Randal Kolo Muani (3/10):
Missed one and had another saved in the first half. Ineffective in the second. Far off the pace.
Kylian Mbappe (7/10):
Seemed certain to score before the break, but was denied by Sule. Created Zaire-Emery’s goal with a wonderful run. Unlucky to have one ruled out. One of the world’s best, even when he doesn’t score.
Bradley Barcola (6/10):
Lively when he was on the ball, but some of his passing and link-up play was lacking. Missed a big chance late on.
Subs & Manager
Manuel Ugarte (5/10):
Charged with steadying things, but the contest only got more chaotic.
Marco Asensio (N/A):
No time to make an impact.
Carlos Soler (N/A):
Hardly on the pitch.
Luis Enrique (5/10):
Benched his usual No.6 to go for a real gung-ho setup. PSG created loads, but didn’t take their chances for the most part. They have done the job, but it was far from convincing on the night. Saved by results elsewhere, in the end.