Surprises were aplenty in Dortmund on Tuesday night, right from the starting lineups to the scoreline. Jurgen Klopp decided to rest Sokratis Papastathopoulos and Pierre Emerick Aubameyang, thus giving starts to the unlikely trio Oliver Kirch, Milos Jojic and Manuel Friedrich. Real Madrid had to do without their superstar Cristiano Ronaldo, who was on the bench following a niggling knee injury.
What ensued at the Signal Iduna Park was nothing short of miraculous, as Borussia Dortmund came within inches of pulling off one of the most remarkable comebacks in Champions League history.
Unlike in the first leg in Madrid, the pattern of dominance was more in favor of Dortmund for the first ten minutes. Dortmund looked the brighter side but a flurry of misplaced passes prevented them from breaking with the speed that’s been associated with them over the past few seasons.
With Madrid looking to sit deep and catch Dortmund on the break, the Spaniards were given a gift when they were gifted a penalty for a handball by Lukas Piszczek. The decision seemed hugely debatable but Dortmund’s luck wasn’t to run out just there. Angel Di Maria’s scuffed penalty was saved well by Dortmund captain Roman Weidenfeller to thunderous cheers from the Sudtribune.
A sensational display of speed and strength by Robert Lewandowski and some quick feet from Reus at the other end, just seconds after the penalty, provided Henrikh Mkhitaryan with an incredibly simple opportunity to change the face of the game but a poor finish didn’t even manage to test Iker Casillas.
With pressure growing on Madrid, the expected defensive error arrived. A long cross field ball from deep in Dortmund’s half was poorly dealt with by Pepe, and his header back to Casillas was intercepted by Marco Reus. The German international coolly dribbled past a lost Casillas and slotted home with over an hour to go.
Lewandowski’s physical presence in Madrid’s penalty area was becoming more and more of an annoyance for the visitors. Just three minutes after Dortmund’s opener, the Polish striker was dubiously brought down by Sergio Ramos in the box. The official, Damir Skomina, decided to go against Dortmund but penalized Ramos’ arguments with a yellow card.
With talk of this being one of the greatest comebacks ever growing, Reus ensured that it was becoming more of a reality with a second Dortmund goal in the 37th minute. Dortmund’s typical gegenpressing forced Asier Illarramendi off the ball in midfield, allowing Reus to run head on at Madrid’s shaky central defense. A superb overlapping run by Lewandowski allowed Reus to slide him through on goal only to see the striker’s shot cannoned off the post, but the ever present Reus blasted the rebound into the Madrid net.
Dortmund’s pressure was incessant for the remaining eight minutes of the half but a third wasn’t to come before the half time whistle. Madrid’s occasional forays into the Dortmund half were non-existent anymore. Dortmund’s passing errors were a thing of the past. The second half was set to be one of the most enthralling halves of Champions League football in the past decade.
With the scoreline forcing Ancelotti to change things around and push for a goal, Illarramendi was pulled off at half time with Isco taking his place. The break seemed to calm Madrid down and get back into the game. A mere three minutes into the second half, Gareth Bale finally tested Weidenfeller with a venomous left footed strike. The captain was up to the task once again, preventing Madrid from getting that decisive away goal.
Fatigue began getting to Dortmund around the hour mark as Madrid inched their way back into the game with more possession. Bale was found on the right flank, skipped past two Dortmund defenders, only to curl the ball just wide of the far post. Minutes later Karim Benzema was sent through on goal with only Weidenfellder to beat but a heavy touch by the Frenchman allowed Mats Hummels to get back and win the ball away.
If the seesawing in this fixture wasn’t enough already, a rapid Dortmund break courtesy of Reus allowed the German superstar to feed Mkhitaryan with an exquisite pass. The Armenian rounded the keeper but his finish could only find the upright. Mkhitaryan was at the center of the action just seconds later only to see Casillas deny him this time around.
Casillas was called upon to rescue Madrid once again in the 70th minute when a powerful half volley from Kevin Grosskreutz was fired at the bottom left corner. With the score still at 2-0 in favour of the Germans, Ancelotti brought on Casemiro for a lackluster Angel Di Maria, seemingly settling with the scoreline.
With ten minutes to go, Benzema managed another shot on target but as had been the case all night, Weidenfeller resolutely punched away. As the clock inched towards ninety, Dortmund bodies were up in numbers, and Madrid breaks grew in frequency. Captain courageous, Roman Weidenfeller, thwarted Bale twice to keep an inkling of hope alive. The killer blow wasn’t to come for die Schwarzgelben and it was Madrid with the last laugh when the final whistle was blown. 3-2 to Madrid was how it ended on aggregate, signaling Dortmund’s exit from the tournament.
Despite falling at this hurdle, Klopp and his boys can hold their heads high after all that they have displayed in Europe’s premier club competition this season. The likes of Milos Jojic and Erik Durm showed that the talent at the club didn’t end with just Lewandowski and Reus. Promise is aplenty at Signal Iduna Park and their return to the tournament will be eagerly awaited next season.
Ancelotti will have to focus a lot on his defense if he is to lead this Madrid side to European glory. Had Lewandowski been around for the first leg, this may well have been a very different story. The absence of Ronaldo was bound to affect Madrid but this overreliance on the Portuguese star is a major cause for worry. A massive bucking up is necessary if La Decima is to be achieved.