Real Madrid continues to be an unstoppable force in the UEFA Champions League.
In a game that epitomized “a tale of two halves,” Borussia Dortmund went 2-0 up against the Spanish giants in the first half, thanks to goals from Donyell Malen and Jamie Gittens. Real Madrid came close to responding almost immediately, hitting the post twice in quick succession. The German side took the 2-0 lead into halftime. At the Bernabeu, forty-five minutes is a very long time to defend a lead against the home side.
Antonio Rudiger responded with a bullet header in the second half, and Vinicius Jr. equalized soon after. It then felt inevitable that Real Madrid would go on to win convincingly — which is exactly what they did. Lucas Vasquez got a stroke of luck when his attempted one-two deflected back to him in his path, which he carried to goal and put past the goalkeeper. Vinicius Jr. then produced a moment of magic when he picked up the ball deep in his own half and dribbled to the top of the opposition box, before firing a sweet finish in the far post. The Brazilian completed his hat-trick in the last minute of the match, performing impressive dribbles past two defenders and firing with power past the keeper’s head into the net.
But where did it go wrong for Borussia Dortmund?
New manager Nuri Sahin substituted goalscorer Gittens in the 55th minute for defender Waldemar Anton, signaling a defensive shift from Sahin. This shift was all Real Madrid needed, as they scored two goals in the seven minutes following the change. Sahin responded by taking off the other goalscorer Malen for a midfielder, and Real Madrid continued to break through the lines afterward. It suggests that keeping the pressure against Real Madrid is the best way to expose their weakness, although Sahin suggests they couldn’t do so because they didn’t have the personnel.
Sahin said in the press conference following the match, “Of course they didn’t work (the subs), but I don’t think it was because of the system change or substitutions — we just lacked options.”
“It was clear to us Real Madrid wanted to press, but we let ourselves be pushed back too far.”
Borussia Dortmund are currently 5th in the new-look Champions League table, while Real Madrid sits in 9th.