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| | | | | | | | | | Borussia Dortmund - Real Madrid 2:1 (1:1) | |
| | Season 2012/2013, Matchday 3, 24.10.2012 20:45 |
| | |  | Matchreport |
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| | | | | | 2-1: Lewandowski and Schmelzer strikes down Real and the Signal Iduna Park rocks! | | | | [24.10.] What a spectacular night of football! Just four days after the pain of defeat in the derby against Schalke 04 the Signal Iduna Park was throbbing. Borussia Dortmund, having defeated Real Madrid 2-1 (1-1), now head the so called ´Group of Death´ and are on course for the last 16. The celebrations upon hearing referee Kassai´s whistle were beyond comprehension. | | | Boris Rupert reporting
The UEFA prescribed "BVB Stadium Dortmund" housed a capacity 65,829 crowd who were lucky enough to witness a genuine duel between Borussia and Real Madrid during which the home side deservedly went ahead on 35 minutes through Lewandowski only to see Ronaldo equalise just two minutes later. The Black ´n´ Yellows would not let go and in the second half Schmelzer fired home on 64 minutes to set up a 2-1 lead that the team fought like tigers to defend until the final whistle.
The Scenario:
Real Madrid arrived in optimal shape having defeated Man. City (3-2) and Ajax (4-1) with six points already in the bag. However, the club had only registered one win in 23 European Cup games on German soil and had been beaten 16 times. BVB came into the game having won 1-0 at home to Ajax and drawn 1-1 in Manchester. BVB had not won even one of their last five home games against Spanish opposition but had drawn both their home games against Real 0-0 and 1-1.
 | | He's back! Mario Götze evades Essien, Xabi Alonso and Pepe. |
Personnel Matters:
Huge relief for the home team as both Schmelzer and Götze returned to the starting eleven whilst Gündogan made it to the bench. That meant that in reality only Kuba (out until mid-November) was missing from the ideal line-up. Perisic and Leitner returned to the bench after the weekend defeat at home to Schalke and for the visitors, Marcelo, Alvaro Arbeloa and Fabio Coentrao were unavailable.
Tactics:
Real lined up in a 4-2-2-1 formation with Cristiano Ronaldo in a free role and when in possession looked very much like BVB with Xabi Alonso sitting, the central defenders squeezing outwards and the full backs joining midfield. The early injury to Khedira which led to Modric coming on altered little to this plan. Borussia adopted their familiar 4-2-3-1 choosing to look after Ronaldo within a zonal marking system. Going forward there was a lot of fluidity with the likes of Reus, Götze and Großkreutz swapping roles constantly.
 | | Großkreutz towers over Khedira. |
The Game and Analysis:
It was, from the start, an intensive and hard-fought game punctuated by outbreaks of football quality. Real strove to hit long balls forward and with the pitch damp and slick these were difficult to contend with. However, Borussia held their lines well after coming through two hairy moments early on and for the most part had the stadium on the edge of their seats as they stalked the edge of the Real box.
Großkreutz was unable to make contact with a Schmelzer cross only for the ball to skip on to Lewandowski who couldn´t control the ball and the chance, on 17 minutes, was lost. Kehl, having earlier tested Casillas on 13 minutes, was again the man to seek the opener when he found himself on the end of a one-two with Götze only to see Casillas save superbly on 27 minutes. Halfway through the first half the stats showed 4-3 shots on goal but the visitors in the famous white shirts had enjoyed 60% of possession.
With 36 minutes gone (at 21:22 local time to be precise) the stadium foundations were thoroughly tested as the ground erupted as Kehl intercepted a Pepe pass and quickly set Lewandowski off on a run on goal which culminated with a crisp shot into the right-hand corner of Casillas´ goal. The goal was the Pole´s second in the competition so far this season.
The euphoria and lead lasted just two minutes. Özil, deep in his own half, sent a searching ball forward to Ronaldo who quickly had Piszczek and Subotic (claiming offside) behind him. Now in on Weidenfeller, the striker calmly lobbed the ball over the onrushing ´keeper to make it 1-1 at half-time.
 | | Götze, seen here with Modric, was the fulcrum for BVB. |
Borussia changed little at half-time and continued to play a disciplined and tactically canny game. At the back they were secure and going forward they were fast and dangerous. A delightful one-two between Reus and Piszczek led to Götze getting in on goal only for Casillas to deny him (50 mins). Just moments later Reus once again tested the visiting ´keeper when his free-kick from a narrow angle cheekily went close.
The visitors were still a threat and, on 55 minutes, Di Maria almost gave them the lead but pulled his shot wide. At the other end Götze and Piszczek combined to allow Bender a shot which sailed over on 57 minutes.
And then it was "Schmelle-time!" Casillas was only able to punch a Götze cross to the feet of Schmelzer who, from 15 yards out struck a fierce shot, through a forest of legs, deep into the net. The German coach, Löw, was watching as that moment, on 64 minutes, turned the stadium into a mad-house of excitement! Klopp introduced birthday boy Gündogan for Bender (who in 67 minutes had clocked up 10 kilometers) and slowly but surely Real enjoyed more of the ball. Chances to relieve this pressure were scarce but despite the constant Real pressure, and despite three minutes of extra time, Borussia duly secured their first-ever win over Real Madrid.
Teams & Goals
UEFA Champions League, Matchday 3
BORUSSIA DORTMUND - REAL MADRID CF 2-1 (1-1)
Borussia Dortmund: Weidenfeller - Piszczek, Subotic, Hummels, Schmelzer - Bender, Kehl - Reus, Götze, Großkreutz - Lewandowski
Real Madrid: Casillas - Sergio Ramos, Varane, Pepe, Essien - Khedira, Xabi Alonso - di Maria, Özil, Cristiano Ronaldo - Higuain
Substitutions: 67. Gündogan for Bender, 87. Schieber for Götze, 90.+1 Perisic for Reus - 20. Modric for Khedira, 73. Higuain for Benzema
Goals: 1-0 Lewandowski (36., Kehl), 1-1 Ronaldo (38., Özil), 2-1 Schmelzer (64., Götze)
Corners: 8-4 (HT 2-1), Chances: 6-3 (2-1)
Referee: Kassai (Ungarn), Yellow Cards: - Ramos, Xabi Alonso
Attendance: 65.829 (sold out), Weather: misty 12 degrees
Prospects:
The return fixture takes place in 13 days at the Bernabeu, but this Saturday BVB visit SC Freiburg (kick off: 1530 CET).
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