Borussia Dortmund face a mammoth task if they are to overturn the first leg deficit, against Real Madrid, after the defeat at the Bernabeu.
Real Madrid hold a comfortable advantage, and with the league slipping out of their grasp, it looks as if much of the focus will be on the Champions League and winning their coveted tenth trophy. The one they’ve craved ever since ‘that’ Zinedine Zidane volley beat Bayer Leverkusen.
Die Schawrzgelben are three-nil down; after Gareth Bale, Isco and Cristiano Ronaldo opened up a comfortable lead for Real, and it could have been plenty more if not for some inspired play by Roman Weidenfeller, Sokratis and Mats Hummels. In truth, Henrikh Mkhitaryan could have also had a massive say, the Armenian missed two glorious chances which could prove crucial in the grand scheme of things.
Dortmund will be hoping for a repeat of Robert Lewandowski’s magical performance which saw him score four goals the last time the sides met in the Westfalenstadion. The Pole has scored five times in his last four games against Real Madrid and has contributed to fifty percent of BVB’s goals in the last two seasons of the competition.
The Westphalians managed to win their first home game since late February, with a huge two-one win over European rivals Wolfsburg. That win put them ten points clear of a stuttering Leverkusen and almost guarantees them Champions League qualification next year, with their time in the tournament this year looking like coming to an end. BVB are still without Neven Subotic, Ilkay Gündoğan, Sven Bender and Jakub Błaszczykowski remain unavailable due to their long term injuries. Club captain Sebastian Kehl is banned. Nuri Sahin and Roman Weidenfeller remain doubts, but the keeper trained with his gloves on yesterday and should be fine to start. Lewandowski, who missed the first leg, had this to say before the game:
I was sad that I couldn't play the last game, but we still have a slight chance. I watched the last game on my couch at home and I couldn't stand not being able to help out my team. We are always dangerous in Dortmund and will be looking to give it our all for 90 minutes. We are a different team than last year, but we can still cause them some trouble, we have quite a few injuries, but we still have a lot of good players and have a lot of potential.
He went on to talk about his time in Dortmund, and talk of him scoring four goals again, “When I came to Dortmund I wanted to be the best, I have had a great time here, I'd do it all over again. I trained hard here every year and I wanted to improve as a player. I think it were unbelievable four years. If someone thinks I can score four goals again tomorrow they are a little crazy but when we play in Dortmund, we are always dangerous.”
Real Madrid slipped up in the race for the La Liga crown in recent weeks, but are still within touching distance thanks to an impressive four-nil away win against Real Sociedad. That win meant they stayed just three points behind city rivals Atletico Madrid. The capital club have a formidable record in recent Champions League games, with Los Blancos only losing once in their last eleven Champions League games, that defeat coming at the hands of tonight’s opponents. They have also failed to score in just one of the last thirty-five European ties, when you factor in Cristiano Ronaldo is just one goal away from scoring the most goals in a Champions League season, it looks an uphill task for Dortmund. They are without Sami Khedira, Jesé Rodriguez, Marcelo and Alvaro Arbeloa. Ronaldo is also a doubt after he left final training after just twenty minutes, but it’s expected that this year’s Balon d’Or winner will start. The man who surpassed his world record transfer fee commented on last week’s win, the Westfalenstadion and also on winning ‘The Tenth’
“Last Wednesday's match at home was great, we played well and deserved to win, but it will be a different game in Dortmund. They'll come out fighting and we have to approach it like any other game, looking to win it and seal our place in the semifinals”.
“I've never played in Signal Iduna Park, but I've seen it on TV and I've heard people talk about it. They say the atmosphere is incredible. We're professionals and we know how to go about our business. We'll approach it like we always do and try to win the match as we always do”.
“We have to take it one game at a time and not get too far ahead of ourselves. It is important to take it one step at a time and not get too distracted, otherwise things could go badly”.