Borussia Dortmund have arrived in Madrid with the wind in their sails – literally: the BVB team airbus with flight number EW1909 landed safely and soundly at Madrid Barajas International Airport almost 40 minutes ahead of schedule, touching down in the Spanish capital after just 127 minutes in the air.

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Boris Rupert reporting from Madrid

In football 127 minutes of play is only possible with extra time and stoppage time – and there's no chance of that happening in BVB's final UEFA Champions League group game at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday evening, when the Group F winners and runners-up will be decided inside 90 minutes.

Despite the fact that Real Madrid are unbeaten in 33 competitive matches and that only one German team has ever recorded victory in this tradition-steeped sporting arena, the Black and Yellows will still be aiming to become only the fourth German club to avoid defeat at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu – a feat they have already previously achieved, having secured a highly-deserved point in a 2-2 draw away to Real on 6 November 2012.

"We're not just going to hand the points over," declared Sporting Director Michael Zorc before the flight to Madrid, while goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller, who was with the squad that travelled to the Spanish capital in 2003 and played between the sticks there in 2012 (2-2), 2013 (2-0 defeat that still took them through to the final) and 2014 (3-0 defeat), added: "We need to surpass ourselves as a team."

"Very few keep a clean sheet at the Bernabeu"

BVB boast the advantage of having nothing to lose, with second spot in the group already sown up, but they still have a lot to gain – particularly in terms of prestige – as qualifying for the last 16 as group winners ahead of Real Madrid would be a major coup for the seventh-placed club on the European Club Ranking List. It is a controversial topic as to whether drawing a second-placed team in the last 16 of the UEFA Champions League is advantageous given the European heavyweights who will also be in this pot. In any case, Roman Weidenfeller believes it is a "small but by no means negligible advantage" to play the return leg at home.

A draw will be enough to win the group. "Experience shows that you always get really good chances there. Not loads but some – and you need to make use of those," said Zorc, who added: "Very few teams keep a clean sheet at the Bernabeu."