Real Madrid 5-2 Borussia Dortmund: Three Takeaways from collapse at the Bernabeu

I’m not going to overthink this one

I never expected Borussia Dortmund to earn any points from this match. Yes, it hurts. Yes, this is Nuri Sahin’s second game conceding five goals in his eleven matches in charge. The fact Real Madrid scored five in one half after BVB managed to take the lead feels like rubbing salt in the wounds. This is football, and this is Real Madrid. I think Sahin will use this as a learning experience, and examine the second-half meticulously to determine how things went completely awry. But there are still five matches in the league phase to come, and BVB are still in a good position. Plus, there are plenty of positive takeaways from this game too.

The individual quality on display from certain players has me breathing a small sigh of relief. Julian Brandt is looking better and better in both his playmaking, dribbling and shooting, and I fully expect him to start scoring more. Ramy Bensebaini was still looking fairly strong, winning most of his ground duels; he gives me some hope for the left-back situation. Doyell Malen scored and assisted after a lifeless weekend performance, so maybe he's finding some form too.

The second-half capitulation was also made worse by the Santiago Bernabeu, which is an intimidating venue on par with Westfalenstadion. The final ten minutes were simply painful to watch and I could tell the players were ready for it to be over, as was I.

The strangest thing for me, was feeling pessimistic after the win over St. Pauli, but optimistic after this 2-5 loss to Real Madrid. I’m willing to have some patience, because what Dortmund did in the first-half was magical.