Real Madrid 3-2 Borussia Dortmund: Review; Disappointing End to UCL campaign

Borussia Dortmund was up against the mighty Real Madrid in their final fixture of this season’s Champions League. The Black and Yellows were already knocked out of the tournament. But needed to confirm their spot in the Europa League

Starting XI

Bürki; Bartra, Sokratis, Subotic; Guerreiro, Dahoud, Sahin, Schmelzer; Kagawa, Aubameyang, Pulisic

Peter Bosz decided to play with a three-man defence to counter Madrid’s attacking threat. Aubameyang returns to the starting XI after missing out the Bundesliga game against Bayer Leverkusen. Dahoud makes his first start since September and is joined by Kagawa who replaces Yaramelenko on the wing.

First Half:

From the whistle, Borussia Dortmund were pushed on the backfoot as Real Madrid got out of the blocks quickly. Cristiano Ronaldo had the first chance for the Los Blancos but his long ranger was saved by Burki.

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But it didn’t take long for Zidane’s men to find the goal as a fluid play between Ronaldo and Isco opened up the defence with Mayoral finishing the move in the 9th minute. 3 minutes later, Ronaldo’s inch-perfect shot from the outside the box doubled their lead as Burki was left watching the ball.

Dortmund came back into the game slowly. in the 25th minute, Varane almost turned the ball into his own net which began a session of pressure. Kagawa got a shot on target but Navas was up to the task. Aubameyang had his first chance of the game but his shot went wide of the Madrid goal.

Second half:

Borussia Dortmund took control of the game at the start of the second half. In the 48th minute, the midfield managed to find Aubameyang free in the box. His initial shot was saved by Navas but he followed it up with a cheeky chip to level the score.

Chances started to flow at both ends but the sides were unable to get the ball in the back of the net. Dahoud almost cost a goal as Isco latched on his loose pass. The Spaniard passed the ball to Ronaldo but his shot was wide. The game entered a period of stalemate as both sides were trying to break down the defences.

Real Madrid managed to grab control and were able to have a few shots on the Borussia Dortmund goal. But Burki stood firm and saved them comfortably. The resistance didn’t last long as Ronaldo found the back of the net only to be deemed offside. In the following play, Lucas Vazquez managed to restore Madrid’s lead with a shot from the outside the box in the 81st minute.

Kagawa had an opportunity to level the scoreline. But the Japanese sent his shot to the stands and the game ended in Real Madrid’s favour 3-2.

Conclusion

This ends Borussia Dortmund’s Champions League campaign with only 2 points out of 6 fixtures. APOEL’s defeat at the Wembley confirmed that the Black and Yellows will be playing in the Europa League at the turn of the year. It will be interesting to see if Peter Bosz sticks around till then.

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