It was the final minute of stoppage time and Mats Hummels was doing what he does best: Commanding the defense.

Ousmane Dembele just received the ball at a position approximately 23 meters away from the goal, and Hummels signaled to Ian Maatsen, Borussia Dortmund’s left-back, to watch out for Achraf Hakimi on the right wing of Paris Saint-Germain.

Throughout that period, Hummels kept an eye on Dembele.

At the moment when the PSG winger feigned a shot and then cut the ball inside, Hummels stood firm with his left foot and never turned his back to the ball – unlike many modern football defenders. Instead, he extended his right leg and thwarted Dembele’s dribbling intention.

Another PSG attacking wave was thwarted by the 35-year-old center-back, who won an impressive 7 aerial duels (the most in the game) and made 4 interceptions (joint-most) against the home side in the Champions League semi-final second leg, while also executing 10 clearances (most in the game) and 3 blocked passes (most in the game) from the opposition. Above all, he was the one who scored the sole goal of the match, securing a 1-0 victory for Dortmund that night and a 2-0 aggregate win after both legs.

At the age of 35, Hummels performed exceptionally well in both legs, earning him the title of the standout player in both Paris and Dortmund, thus propelling the club with significant meaning for him into their 3rd Champions League final in their history.

“Not many believed we could do this,” Hummels said.

It’s a fascinating story, and Hummels’s role in it – he’s certain to feature in the Champions League’s best XI of the season – seems to have surprised many.

“I have to talk about Mats Hummels,” Thierry Henry, former Arsenal and Barcelona forward, now a pundit for CBS Sports, remarked after Dortmund’s triumph. “When he left Bayern Munich, everyone thought, ‘That’s it, he’s done.’ But now he deserves a lot of praise. Even I couldn’t have imagined he could play at this level after returning to Dortmund.”

However, in many ways, this version of Hummels is precisely what Dortmund had in mind when they re-signed him from Bayern Munich for £35 million in the summer of 2019.

Hans-Joachim Watzke, Dortmund’s CEO, shared with The Athletic at the time that bringing Hummels back was not just about adding an experienced player with a strong mentality to the squad.

“It’s also because of his excellent defensive abilities and ball handling – it’s hard for us to find another center-back with similar qualities at this moment, always ready to challenge for the ball and capable of making bold passes from the defense. They often unlock the game and create opportunities. In that regard, he’s truly an outstanding center-back.”

Against PSG, Hummels displayed all of those qualities and more.

There were classical interceptions, beautiful passes, outstanding defensive positioning to neutralize danger, and aerial duels as if this 35-year-old veteran had a magnetic force in his forehead for the ball.

But above all, the German center-back played with a demeanor that showed he was thoroughly enjoying every moment on the field.

What other explanation could there be for confidently dribbling out of pressing situations and delivering a sublime outside-of-the-boot pass to Karim Adeyemi in the 3rd minute of stoppage time in the first half of the first leg?

It was an attacking move initiated deep in his own half. As goalkeeper Gregor Kobel distributed the ball upfield, Hummels “swept” the situation around him and saw a gap opening up in the central circle of the pitch.

So he confidently dribbled past the block from PSG wing striker Bradley Barcola…

… leaving him sprawled on the ground after an unsuccessful tackle…

…then cut inside and delivered a beautiful pass with the outside of his right foot to Adeyemi on Dortmund’s left wing.

The fact that both of Hummels’ legs lifted off the ground after he made the pass only added to its magnificence. Whether that move was technically necessary or not, only Hummels would know.

But regardless, it was still a visually stunning play.

Hummels’ greatest asset lies in his combination of physical strength and impressive intelligence, as Kylian Mbappé experienced firsthand last week in Dortmund. In a situation where he had his back to the opponent’s goal in the home half, Mbappé received the ball and made a grave mistake by turning without bothering to assess the situation behind him.

Hummels, who initially stood about 5 meters behind Mbappé, caught the French striker and rushed up to block.

The 35-year-old midfielder won the ball, Mbappe was thrown into the air, and the Westfalenstadion roared like an animal.

Mbappé immediately got back on his feet – a commendable feat – but then lost his bearings to the extent that he had to turn 360 degrees to try to reassess PSG’s direction of play. At this point, Hummels calmly headed the ball to Julian Brandt.

That “coolness” is a fundamental part of Hummels’ playing style. Despite being right-footed, the German defender is entirely comfortable using his left foot to outmaneuver an aggressively pressing opponent, as he did multiple times against PSG in the first leg to set Julian Ryerson, Dortmund’s right-back, on the attack.

Or, conversely, when he made a long flick with his right foot that eliminated five PSG players, giving the ball to Brandt and launching an attack.

There’s plenty to admire about Hummels, both as a person and as a footballer. The German veteran seems like a blessing to journalists because he’s so open, enjoys conversation, speaks English better than most English people, and above all, he’s quite witty.

In high spirits after Dortmund’s victory over Atletico Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals a few weeks ago, Hummels seemed even happier to see two other Bundesliga clubs, Bayern Munich and Bayer Leverkusen, progress to the semi-finals of their respective European competitions while Arsenal, Manchester City, and West Ham United were eliminated.

“What a great week for us farmers,” the German star wrote on Twitter, taking a jab at those who often use the term “Farmer League” to criticize the Bundesliga as an inferior competition. This post went viral, and Dortmund also joined in on the fun.

The name Mats Hummels once again became a trending topic after Tuesday night’s rematch between PSG and Dortmund, but this time entirely because of his performance on the field and his role in creating the decisive moment of the match.

It’s fascinating how the corner kick that led to Hummels’ goal originated from an excellent attacking move by Nico Schlotterbeck, his teammate and fellow countryman. After facing a lot of criticism and losing his place in the German national team, Schlotterbeck also played extremely impressively in both legs.

As for Hummels’ goal, the way he looked at Lucas Beraldo, the opponent who was marking him just before the header, will surely make many feel sorry for the 20-year-old PSG defender.

“Young defender faced off against an experienced one, and he was ‘bullied,'” commented Rio Ferdinand on TNT Sports.

It was Hummels’ 5th goal in the Champions League, and it completely shifted the momentum of the game away from PSG’s control. “That’s what the main training sessions are for – moments like this,” Hummels shared. “Thanks to that goal, we were able to play more comfortably.”

In fact, apart from the fortunate penalty escape after a foul on Dembele, the only other time Hummels appeared flustered in Paris was when Marco Reus, one of the two remaining members (alongside Hummels himself) from the Dortmund team that lost to Bayern Munich in the 2013 Champions League final, interrupted his post-match interview with a playful punch to the German defender’s chest.

“He’s stronger than you think!” Hummels joked with the reporter.

Now, the opportunity to erase their biggest career regret awaits this duo at Wembley next month.