Match Report
From 2-0 to 2-5 – BVB come away empty-handed
Boris Rupert reporting from Madrid
The repeat edition of the final from 1 June was a thrilling match! Borussia Dortmund made it an open game and took a 2-0 lead thanks to goals from Donyell Malen (30) and Jamie Gittens (34), and twice benefited from the woodwork thereafter, but stayed in front until the break. Real levelled at 2-2 in the space of two minutes via Rüdiger (60) and Vinicius (62). After Beier narrowly missed out on making it 3-2, Vazquez (83) and Vinicius (86, 90+3) subsequently fired Real Madrid to victory.
The scenario:
Borussia Dortmund – along with six other clubs – had started the competition with two wins and topped the table thanks to their superior goal difference after a 3-0 victory in Bruges and a 7-1 triumph against Celtic. Real Madrid had beaten VfB Stuttgart 3-1 in their opening game and lost 1-0 away to OSC Lille on Matchday 2. The two clubs were meeting for the 16th time. BVB had won three times to date, while Real had won seven times – including the last three meetings.
Personnel matters:
Süle was not only back in the squad but was one of three new faces in the starting line-up compared to the St. Pauli match. In addition, Nmecha and Gittens came into the team in place of Anton, Can and Groß (all substitutes).
Tactics:
BVB lined up in their usual 4-2-3-1 formation but this time with a defensive midfield duo of Sabitzer and Nmecha, who were not only focused on defending but on constructive build-up play too. That worked rather reliably on the whole, allowing both full-backs – Bensebaini then operating in a centre-left position – to advance high up the pitch. At times, there were five Dortmund players in the line of attack. Real lined up in a 4-3-3 formation with right-back Vazquez pushing very high up the pitch when they had possession of the ball.
The match & analysis:
It was an open and fast-paced opening half. Dortmund held their own as mentioned, had a lot of the ball in the opposition half and registered the first glimpse of goal in the sixth minute after Brandt had gotten the better of Modric and laid the ball out to the right wing. Guirassy reached Ryerson's cross on the edge of the six-yard box but could not put it past Courtois. At the other end, Mbappé's shot following an insufficiently cleared corner-kick was turned behind for another corner by Süle (8).
BVB – fantastically supported by the 4,200 travelling fans – repeatedly played their way into the opposition half. However, they were lacking that little bit of precision with their final or penultimate pass to begin with. But then the Black & Yellows celebrated the opening goal: Brandt shielded the ball well and played it into the box to Guirassy, who spotted the gap between Rüdiger and Mendy and fed Malen, who controlled the ball very well and fired an unstoppable shot into the right corner (30). Spurred on by the goal, the scorer got the better of two opposing players down the right flank only four minutes later; Gittens turned on the afterburners down the left and was in the right place when Malen's ball across the six-yard box arrived. The Englishman charged into the net with the ball at his feet. Borussia led 2-0 at the Bernabeu after 33 minutes!
Real immediately went up two gears. Bellingham initially went through on Kobel but aimed his header from around five metres out too centrally and straight into the arms of the keeper (36), who twice got lucky seconds later when Rodrygo and Bellingham struck the crossbar in direct succession and then had to show all of his ability in the same passage of play when he turned Brandt's attempted clearance behind for a corner.
BVB survived this spell and created two dangerous moments in front of the home team's goal in the period that followed: Brandt initially forced Courtois into a splendid save with a powerful but placed shot from distance (39), before the shot-stopper was tested by Gittens from the edge of the penalty area two minutes later.
The reigning champions seized the initiative after the interval and pressed significantly higher but left spaces to counter into as a result. Schlotterbeck cleared outstandingly in the six-yard box with Mbappé lurking (52). Shortly afterwards, Sahin brought on Anton in place of Gittens and switched to a back three/five. The Black & Yellows suffered in this period and only rarely – in contrast to the first minutes of the second period – got on the ball, but when they did they were dangerous: Malen shot from a tight angle but Courteous turned it behind for a corner (57).
But the goal back had been coming and it came too early: central defender Rüdiger, who had pushed high up during the period of pressure, headed home Valverde's cross from six metres out to make it 2-1 (60). The equaliser from Vinicius around two minutes later initially did not count because the offside flag was raised. The Bernabeu grew really loud for the first time, and the stadium then exploded when the goal was allowed to stand by VAR. Borussia were swimming. Malen was replaced by another defensive player (Groß, 64), with Can and Beier coming on for the exhausted Ryerson and Nmecha with 15 minutes to go. During this period, Borussia had managed to free themselves from the opposition's stranglehold a little and got into dangerous positions in the penalty area on three occasions – but only got a shot away once: Beier was denied by Courtois in the 82nd minute. Vazquez responded almost immediately from a narrow angle to make it 3-2, with Vinicius increasing the lead to 4-2 from range shortly afterwards. He completed his hat-trick in stoppage time.
Outlook:
Before resuming their Champions League campaign with a home game against Sturm Graz on 5 November, BVB have two league fixtures (away to Augsburg this Saturday and then at home to Leipzig on the following Saturday) and the cup tie in Wolfsburg on 29 October on the agenda.
Teams & goals
UEFA Champions League Matchday 3
REAL MADRID 5-2 (0-2) BORUSSIA DORTMUND
Real Madrid: Courtois – Vazquez, Eder Militao, Rüdiger, Mendy – Valverde – Bellingham, Modric (Camavinga, 71) – Rodrygo (Tchouameni, 85), Mbappé, Vinicius Junior
Bor. Dortmund: Kobel – Ryerson (Can, 76), Süle, Schlotterbeck, Bensebaini – Sabitzer, Nmecha (Beier, 76) – Malen (Groß, 64), Brandt, Gittens (Anton, 55) – Guirassy
Substitutes: Fran, Lunin, Garcia, Vallejo, Güler, Ceballos, Endrick – Meyer, Lotka, Azhil, Kabar, Wätjen, Mané, Campbell
Goals: 0-1 Malen (Guirassy, 30), 0-2 Gittens (Malen, 34), 1-2 Rüdiger (Valverde, 60), 2-2 Vinicius (62), 3-2 Vazquez, 4-2 Vinicius (86), 5-2 Vinicius (90+4)
Corners: 8-3 (4-2 at half-time), chance ratio: 8-6 (3-4)
Referee: Kovacs (Romania), yellow cards: Vinicius
Attendance: not yet known, weather: dry (closed roof), 19 degrees