Vinicius Junior scored a hat-trick as Borussia Dortmund let a two-goal lead slip and fell to a 5-2 defeat to Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday.
By the end, the game had a feeling of a drubbing as Real Madrid pulled off a stunning comeback and Borussia Dortmund were left feeling hapless after an incredible first-half performance. The Black and Yellows came ever so close to gaining a measure of revenge for their defeat to Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League final.
But as was the case in June, Real Madrid were more clinical in front of goal and capitalised on the mistakes made by Borussia Dortmund.
Vinicius Junior was the star of the show for Real Madrid, scoring a second-half hat-trick en route to the man of the match award. Antonio Rüdiger and Lucas Vazquez also scored for the home side after Donyell Malen and Jamie Gittens had left the Santiago Bernabéu stadium in stunned silence in the first-half.
Borussia Dortmund taught footballing lesson after incredible first-half performance
Nuri Sahin's side made a blistering start to the game and caught Real Madrid by surprise with some of their play in the first-half. Buoyed by a new-look midfield, BVB dominated proceedings and got their reward in the 30th minute when Donyell Malen opened the scoring after being set up by Serhou Guirassy.
Four minutes later, Malen turned provider for Jamie Gittens who continued his excellent run of form by making it 2-0.
Both teams had chances to score in the closing stages of the first-half, with Rodrygo and Jude Bellingham both hitting the woodwork for the home side. But it was Borussia Dortmund who went into the break with an unexpected two goal cushion to their name.
Real Madrid came out all guns blazing after the break and halved the deficit through Antonio Rüdiger, who headed home from close range after the BVB defenders failed to pick out his run. Vinicius Junior then scored the equaliser less than two minutes later after being played onside.
More careless defending from Borussia Dortmund allowed Real Madrid to take the lead in the 83rd minute. This time it was Lucas Vazquez with a fine run into the box that the tired defenders failed to keep up with.
Vinicius then added a fourth in the 88th minute with an excellent solo effort, before completing his hat-trick in stoppage time with another sublime piece of play.
Borussia Dortmund will be left to rue their woeful second-half defending, while Nuri Sahin's conservative tactical tweaks after the break did not help the team's cause either. Nor did the poor finishing, with Maximilian Beier missing a golden opportunity to restore BVB's lead moments before Vazquez scored.
The defeat will certainly sting for Borussia Dortmund, but they still remain firmly in contention for a place in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League. Next up for BVB is another away game, against FC Augsburg in the Bundesliga.