Real Madrid beats Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League
Brazilian leads incredible comeback at the Santiago Bernabéu after Germans opened up a two-goal lead in the first half
AMAZING TURN!
With a show by Vinicius Junior, Real Madrid beat Borussia Dortmund 5-2 in a heroic comeback. In the third round of the Champions League phase, the Germans opened up a 2-0 lead at the Santiago Bernabéu, with Malen and Gittens. In the second half, Real managed to score five goals, with Rüdiger, Lucas Vázquez and Vini Jr (3).
GOLDEN BALL PERFORMANCE
Vinicius Junior had another historic performance for Real Madrid in the Champions League. Less than a week before the 2024 Ballon d’Or award ceremony (which will take place next Monday), the big favorite led Real to a stunning comeback against Borussia Dortmund. It was the Brazilian’s third hat-trick for Real Madrid. The most recent was against Barcelona in January of this year in the Spanish Super Cup. He also scored three goals in a match against Levante in 2022 in the Spanish Championship.
THE GAME
Real Madrid’s victory had two completely different halves. In the first half, the home team struggled to create chances and had to send many balls into the box. The Germans, on the other hand, kept the ball on the ground and managed to score goals through passing. First, Guirassy made a beautiful pass to Malen to open the scoring in the 30th minute. Four minutes later, the scorer of the first goal set up Gittens, who doubled the lead. Right after Borussia’s second goal, Real Madrid had their most dangerous chance, with Rodrygo and Bellingham hitting the crossbar twice in an impressive sequence.
In the second half, coach Nuri Sahin, just 36 years old, made perhaps the biggest mistake of his short coaching career. With Real Madrid winning 2-0 at the Santiago Bernabéu, he took off striker Gittens and brought on defender Anton early in the second half, putting pressure on the home team. And Real Madrid didn’t let up. In two minutes, between the 14th and 16th minutes, they tied the match, with Rüdiger taking advantage of a cross from Mbappé, and Vini Jr finishing after a rebound from the defense. The Merengue continued to press, until Lucas Vázquez hit a beautiful shot from the edge of the area to turn the game around in the 37th minute. It was up to Vinicius Junior to seal the deal with two more beautiful goals. In the 41st minute, the Brazilian sprinted from the defense’s half to the edge of the area, where he finished with a well-placed shot to score the fourth. The fifth came in the 48th minute, at the end of the match, as he headed towards the opponent’s goal again, dribbling past Anton before finishing powerfully with his left foot to beat Nubel.
