Defender heads Dortmund into Champions League final

Central defender Mats Hummels has headed Borussia Dortmund into the Champions League final, the German team winning 1-0 at Paris Saint-Germain.

Moments after Warren Zaire-Emery missed an open goal for PSG, Hummels rose unchallenged to head in Julian Brandt’s corner from the left in the 50th minute on Tuesday (Wednesday AEST).

Dortmund won both legs 1-0 and largely contained PSG striker Kylian Mbappe, who is leaving at the end of the season.

PSG had long spells of possession in the final 10 minutes.

Goalkeeper Gregor Kobel pushed Mbappe’s deflected close-range shot on to the crossbar with a superb one-handed save, and the Parc des Princes crowd groaned when midfielder Vitinha’s thumping 25-metre strike rattled the woodwork.

Coach Edin Terzic’s team will play either record 14-time champions Real Madrid or six-time winners Bayern Munich on June 1 at Wembley Stadium. Madrid and Bayern drew 2-2 in the first leg and play on Wednesday (local time).

“Extremely proud. I’m very happy, I think we deserved to go to the final,” Terzic said.

“We beat a team like PSG two times and we again kept a clean sheet. We started really well and kept them away from the goal.”

Dortmund are on course for their second Champions League trophy after winning in 1997, and a third European trophy, having won the now defunct UEFA Cup Winners’ Cup in 1966.

They also reached the Champions League final in 2013, losing to Bayern.

“Indescribable. After more than 10 years, I am in the final with Borussia again,” said Marco Reus, Dortmund’s veteran midfielder who is leaving the team after this season.

“How we won the game, no one will ask tomorrow. Shots against the post won’t matter tomorrow. What counts is that Borussia Dortmund is in the final again.”

For PSG, it’s another season ending without raising the trophy their cash-rich Qatari owners so crave, despite spending huge amounts on star players such as Zlatan Ibrahimovic, Neymar, Lionel Messi and Mbappe.

“Efficiency, that’s what we were missing,” PSG captain Marquinhos said.

“We should have defended better. They scored from a corner and a counter-attack (in the first leg). We created more chances, but they won both games.”

As Dortmund’s players rushed over to celebrate with the visiting fans, Mbappe looked dejected as he trudged off the field for the last time in a Champions League game wearing a PSG jersey. He is widely expected to join Madrid.

Mbappe was ineffective in attack when PSG lost the first leg, and again struggled initially to get into the game.

Despite their speed, Mbappe and Ousmane Dembele struggled to find space behind a well-organised Dortmund defence.

Mbappe’s last home game for PSG - who have already clinched the French league title - is against Toulouse on Sunday.

His last game for the club is in the French Cup final at Lyon on May 25 - but not at the famed Wembley Stadium on June 1.