Borussia Dortmund vs. Real Madrid Score, Grades and Post-Match Reaction

Borussia Dortmund vs. Real Madrid Score, Grades and Post-Match Reaction

Tuesday, 8 April 2014

Real Madrid advanced to the semi-finals of the Champions League, but they were given an almighty scare by Borussia Dortmund who won 2-0 on the night to bow out 3-2 on aggregate.

Marco Reus produced a brilliant two-goal display to give Dortmund hope, but Iker Casillas made a string of second-half saves to take Real through.

Madrid had the chance to effectively kill off the game on 17 minutes, as they were awarded a penalty for a handball against Lukasz Piszczek. With Cristiano Ronaldo on the bench, Angel Di Maria took on the responsibility.

He failed to convert, as Roman Weidenfeller pushed his effort away—albeit misfortune befell Di Maria who slipped at the moment of making contact with the ball.

The home crowd ramped up the decibel level and Dortmund fashioned a chance on 19 minutes, with the never-say-die attitude of Robert Lewandowski winning a lost cause. The Poland international won a ball on the byline he had no real right to. The ball was cut back to Henrikh Mkhitaryan who somehow shot wide from eight yards with the goal gaping.

If that missed chance was a warning to Real, it was one they did not heed as Dortmund went ahead on 24 minutes. The Spaniards only had themselves to blame, as Pepe’s header back toward his keeper was woefully short and Reus beat Casillas to the ball before slotting into an empty net.

Casillas has had little playing time this season, but he was sharp enough to make a decent save from Mats Hummels’ powerful header.

The temperature rose inside the Signal Iduna Park on 37 minutes as Dortmund cut their aggregate deficit to one. It was Reus again, with the midfielder driving forward at pace before slipping the ball to Lewandowski. The forward’s shot beat Casillas and rattled the post, with Reus on hand to turn the rebound home.

The interval came at a good time for Real, as they were able to regroup and at the start of the second half Gareth Bale—with his first notable contribution—stung the palms of Weidenfeller.

On the hour, Bale showed his power and pace to break free of two defenders, but he could not apply the finish—as his curling effort went wide of the far post.

Mkhitaryan missed a sitter in the first half and there was a sense of deja vu on 65 minutes. Another quicksilver Dortmund break saw Mkhitaryan streak clear. He rounded Casillas, but fired his shot against the post.

Further chances fell to Dortmund, but Casillas beat away everything that was thrown at him to help his team into the semi-finals.

The final whistle was greeted with a mixture of joy and relief by Real boss Carlo Ancelotti.