'I can’t describe it' - Maatsen revels in helping Dortmund reach Champions League semi-finals

Ian Maatsen could not hide his pleasure after Borussia Dortmund overturned a first-leg deficit against Atletico Madrid to advance to the Champions League semi-finals for the first time since the 2012-13 season. 

The 22-year-old left-back started and scored for the first time in the competition, doubling Die Borussen’s advantage after Julian Brandt put the home side 1-0 up at Signal Iduna Park. However, Atletico responded after the break, notching two goals through a Mats Hummels own-goal and Angel Correa equaliser, levelling at 2-2 and leading 4-3 on aggregate.

Dortmund responded with two goals, with Niclas Fullkrug and Marcel Sabitzer scoring in minutes 71 and 74 to open a 4-2 advantage on the night — 5-4 lead in the tie.

It stayed that way for Edin Terzic’s team, who guided the Bundesliga side to a fourth semi-final in Europe’s premier club competition. 

The Chelsea loanee has been a revelation since swapping West London for North Rhine-Westphalia and was satisfied after another commendable showing for Der BVB. 

“It’s such an amazing feeling, you know?” Maatsen told CBS Sports. “I’ve been dreaming of this since I was a kid, especially scoring my first goal in the Champions League. I’m so happy I can’t even describe it.

“I always believed [I could] play for Chelsea, but unfortunately it didn’t work out. Now I’m here; I’m very grateful for the opportunity. I’m very proud of myself. I kept believing in myself and came here to play my game at the highest level. Today, I think I showed a very good performance.”

While fifth place could be enough to seal a Champions League place, with Germany and Italy currently in pole position to get an extra slot based on UEFA's Association club coefficient ranking, Maatsen and his teammates could still be assured of one by ending in the top four in the Bundesliga. 

They are tied on 56 points with RB Leipzig heading into the 30th gameweek, and the next two games against Bayer Leverkusen and Leipzig are expected to play a significant role in the outcome.

Dortmund host Paris Saint-Germain in the semi-final first-leg just three days after visiting Leipzig on April 27, with the reverse fixture in Paris being played on May 7.