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It was a slightly makeshift Madrid defence that took the field at Dortmund, as young Varane started at centre half, while Michael Essien started at left back in the absence of both first choice players. It was good news for Dortmund as it gave them the opportunity to pit their top scorer of the season, Marco Reus, against Essien. Dortmund, on the other hand, were lucky to have both Hummels and Schmelzer pass late fitness tests, giving their defence a familiar look. The Dortmund support, which made waves at the Etihad stadium, was out in full force, and they made themselves heard within a few seconds of kick off, booing Madrid possession.
It was Madrid who started better though, and nearly took the lead in the 5th minute, with a misplaced pass giving Ronaldo the opportunity to drive a ball across the face of goal, where it missed five players before being scrambled clear. Dortmund’s first opportunity was in the 12th minute, as Casillas was called into action to parry a long range shot from Sebastian Kehl which was heading into the bottom corner. In the 18th minute, Sami Khedira had to be replaced with Modric, as he seemed to have picked up a knock that left him unable to continue. The pitch seemed to be quite slippery, as a notable number of players found themselves sliding on the ground when they might not quite have intended to. Both ‘keepers continued to be spectators, as Madrid failed to get a good attempt on target in spite of dominating possession. It was Casillas who was called into action next, as a Dortmund free kick saw him put in an extravagant dive to parry the ball away.
Against the run of play, it was Dortmund who took the lead through their talismanic striker Lewandowski, in the 36th minute. An extremely sloppy pass from Pepe was picked up by the Polish striker, who made no mistake to bury the ball into Casillas’ left hand corner. It shocked Madrid into action, and they leveled within a couple of minutes, as an excellent aerial pass from Ozil fell for Ronaldo, who stuck a foot out, and lobbed it past Weidenfeller. The scoreline remained at 1-1 as the teams headed in at half time, in spite of a couple of half chances that fell Madrid’s way.
Dortmund had the first clear chance of the second half, as Piszczek drove in a low ball into the box, which Gotze turned towards goal, but failed to beat Casillas, who pulled off a good save. This lead to a short spell of pressure from Dortmund, as a free kick, and a couple of corners followed, each more dangerous than the previous. Madrid managed to resist the pressure though, keeping the score at one goal each. Madrid had a great chance of their own five minutes later, as Benzema turned well, and played a fabulous through ball for Di Maria, only for the Argentine to shoot inches wide of goal. There was no dearth of action in the minutes to come, but the score remained unchanged as both teams were wasteful in front of goal.
The fans, however, continued to cheer for Dortmund in full spirit, making sure to let Ronaldo know what they thought of him when he stepped up for a free kick. Their persistence was rewarded with a goal for their team, as a punch from Casillas fell straight to Schmelzer whose shot crawled through a crowd of players into the back of the net. Dortmund now had twenty six minutes left to record a win over the Spanish champions, while their lead had only lasted two minutes in the first half. It was a goal that gave the home team some impetus as they went toe to toe with Madrid for the next few minutes. There was a strong penalty claim for Dortmund that was waved away by the referee, as he deemed a push from Pepe insufficient cause for Gotze to go down. Madrid had good chances of their own, as Ronaldo nearly got to the ball ahead of everyone else again, only for Weidenfeller to grasp it safely in his arms. Madrid almost had a huge stroke of luck, as a miskick from Subotic looped up awkwardly for Weidenfeller, before he stopped it dipping in under his bar. The performance from Madrid continued to lack a cutting edge as chances continued to go to waste, and this was their undoing, as Dortmund ran out winners, and the new leaders of their Champions League group.
It is a win which leaves Dortmund one win away from practically sealing qualification, while Manchester City seem all set to crash out at the group stage for the second season in a row, with a solitary point from their first three games. All in all, a victory that the Dortmund fans fully deserve to celebrate.
Result: Borussia Dortmund (Robert Lewadowski 26’, Marcel Schmelzer 64’) 2 – 1 Real Madrid (Cristiano Ronaldo 28’)
