Europa League Group Stage
Borussia Dortmund 1-1 Paris St Germain
Attendance: 50,200
As I was based in Dortmund, and my hotel was a 20 minute walk from the ground, today I had ample time to go and sample the delights of the city itself and its most famous of products...beer! Lots of different beers to try and most of the 'hauses' were all within a 10 minute radius of each other, happy days! I would have to say that Hovels Bitterbier was definitely the tastiest of all I sampled.
After an afternoon on the ale it then off to the Westfalenstadion (currently sponsored by Signal Iduna) for the main event. This ground is the largest in Germany boasting a capacity of just over 81,000 but tonight there was just a mere(!) 51,000 or so in attendance. I had a chance to sample another beer at the ground in the adjacent fan-park where the Brinkhoffs was accompanied by the 'sounds' of Peter Gabriel (?) blasting from the stereo. Strange.
I was in Nordtribune directly opposite (naturally) the famous Sudtribune , which was packed to the rafters of the Dortmund hardcore. Sadly for them they didn't really having anything to cheer as the game was absolute turgid.
In absolutely freezing conditions, which probably didn't help my frame of mind, Lucas Barrios hit the post for the homesters in the first half and that was about the sum total of the action. Dortmund took the lead after 50 minutes from the penalty spot, Nuri Sahin converting from 12 yards and from then on I hoped the floodgates would open. There were a few decent chances for Dortmund but they failed to take them, however they still looked in control but with three minutes left, with the will to live being lost, and against the run of play, Clement Chantome got an equaliser for the Parisians to send their travelling fans home happy.
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