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08.04.2014 » Borussia Dortmund 2-0 Real Madrid. Worst performance of the season
Just as it happened last year, Real Madrid was once again surprised by Borussia Dortmund in Germany, after falling at the hands of Jurgen Klopp's men in a 2-0 loss. Last week's 3-0 victory earned at the Santiago Bernabéu ended up being crutial in deciding the tie in the Merengues' favor though (3-2 on aggregate), as it allows the Spanish club to reach the UEFA Champions League semi-finals for the 4th straight year. Cristiano Ronaldo, who couldn't finish yesterday's training session due to a slight discomfort on his knee, had to witness to the entire game from the bench. The Portuguese forward is therefore still in doubt for the Merengues's upcoming fixtures, including the Real Madrid vs Barcelona final for the Copa del Rey, set to be played in about a week from today...
At for the other quarter-finals of the night, Chelsea beat PSG by 2-0 and have also earned their ticket to the semi-finals (3-3 on aggregate, but the Blues benefited from the away-goals rule). The other two semi-finalists will be known this Wednesday, as those clubs will be coming out from the Atletico Madrid vs Barcelona and Bayern Munich vs Manchester United clashes.
Borussia Dortmund 2-0 Real Madrid goals and highlights video:
Let's start by point out that those first 45 minutes at the Signal Iduna Park stadium were probably the worst football Real Madrid has ever produced this season. The defensive mistakes kept piling up one after another and Borussia Dortmund's predictable strategy of coming out strong and pressing high up the pitch worked exactly as Jurgen Klopp wanted. Nevertheless, things only started going downhill after a penalty-kick kiss from Angel Di María on the 16th minute of the first half, which somehow triggered the hosts' reaction and lifted them to initiate the charge against the Merengues.
Without Cristiano Ronaldo on the pitch, one would assume that perhaps Xabi Alonso or even Gareth Bale would have stepped up to take that high pressure penalty-kick in Germany. That wasn't the case though and the truth is that Angel Di María didn't show the nerve required for the moment in question. Real Madrid wasted an enormous opportunity to seal the deal for good right there and Borussia Dortmund was given a golden chance to start building their momentum from that point onwards.
In terms of the tactical choices, Carlo Ancelotti has once more shown his faith and belief on Asier Illarramendi, by placing the former Real Sociedad player in midfield, right next to Xabi Alonso and Luka Modric. That decision came as a necessity since the Italian manager had also moved Angel Di María up on the pitch, in order for the Argentinian to take Cristiano Ronaldo's position in one of the attacking wings. However and despite how much it may hurt to hear, Illarramendi proved one more time that he does not possess the quality that is needed to play in a midfield like Real Madrid's.
The first goal of the night arrived in the 23rd minute of the first half and it was basically the result of a capital mistake made by Pepe, following a long clearance made by the hosts, still in their own defense. The Portuguese centre defender, who had just been the most valuable Real Madrid player in their last league game, didn't read the play as he should have and saw his back header being intercepted by Borussia Dortmund's winger, Reus. The German star reached out to the ball before Casillas, rounded him and then easily struck it into the back of the net. There were several players in Real Madrid who seemed to have turned on their panic mode, probably still holding some very bad memories from last's seasons 4-1 routing.
The scenario got even darker before the break, as Borussia Dortmund reached their second goal in the game, following another incomprehensible mistake from a Real Madrid player. This time it was the 40-million youngster bought last summer Asier Illarramendi, who delivered the ball to the men in the wrong uniform, allowing Borussia Dortmund to immediately catch Real Madrid off guard in the counter. The attack was led by Reus, who left the ball over to Lewandowski on the left, but only to see the Poland international hitting the post after a right-foot strike. Reus was on the right place though and gave the proper follow-up to the rebound, setting the score on a very dangerous 2-0 lead for Borussia Dortmund.
One way or another, Real Madrid did manage to held on to the 3-2 aggregate advantage in the remaining minutes of the game, even though Borussia Dortmund still had in their hands several chances to equalize the tie. The Merengues have therefore confirmed their presence in the UEFA Champions League semi-finals, but the incredibly poor performance delivered in the first half could have very well jeopardized all their European dreams this season. At the end of the game, Ancelotti stated that Ronaldo wasn't brought into the game as a precaution and that he truly believes that the Portugal international will be at 100% for the semi-finals, scheduled to be played at the end of April (first legs on 22-23 of April and the second legs on April 29-30). Real Madrid and Chelsea are already there and tomorrow we'll get to know who exactly will join them for next Friday's semi-finals draw: Atletico Madrid or Barcelona, and Bayern Munich or Manchester United.
Real Madrid line-up vs Borussia Dortmund:
Goalkeeper: Iker Casillas
Defenders: Fábio Coentrão, Sergio Ramos, Pepe, Carvajal
Midfielders: Xabi Alonso, Illarramendi, Modric
Attackers: Gareth Bale, Angel Di María, Karim Benzema.
| Match stats provided by www.ronaldo7.net
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|---|---|---|
Borussia Dortmund
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vs
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Real Madrid
|
2 |
Goals |
0 |
11 |
Shots |
10 |
7 |
Shots on goal |
4 |
4 |
Corner kicks |
2 |
8 |
Fouls commited |
10 |
2 |
Yellow cards |
5 |
0 |
Red cards |
0 |
53% |
Ball possession |
47% |
Cristiano Ronaldo next game for Real Madrid will be against Almeria for La Liga, on April 12, 2014. You can watch Juventus live stream, Real Madrid vs Almeria, Atletico Madrid vs Barça, Bayern Munchen vs Manchester United, and Sevilla vs Porto, all matches provided from our football live pages.
Real Madrid next game:
Real Madrid vs Almeria kick-off time (12-04-2014):
Jakarta (Indonesia) | GMT+7: 03:00
Spain (Madrid) | GMT+2: 22:00
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | GMT+1: 21:00
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | GMT-3: 16:00
New York (United States) | GMT-4: 15:00
Los Angeles (United States) | GMT-7 12:00
Beijing (China) | GMT+8: 04:00
Sources: ronaldo7.net / realmadrid.com / goal.com
