Real Madrid 5-2 Borussia Dortmund: Match review | OneFootball

Santiago Bernabeu played host to yet another memorable comeback as Real Madrid ran riot after being two goals down and ended up scoring five in reply.

Los Blancos began the game fielding a traditional 4-3-3 with the midfield trio of Jude Bellingham, Luka Modric and Fede Valverde, which meant no room for Aurelien Tchouameni in the side. Rodrygo also made a return to the starting lineup, completing the trio alongside Kylian Mbappe and Vinicius Junior in the attack.

Real Madrid were off to a rather quiet start with Mbappe and Rodrygo having their shots blocked, and Vinicius having a crack at goal. The visitors, on the other hand, absorbed the pressure and looked to take the game to the reigning champions.

This strategy eventually paid off when Serhou Guirassy was being marked aggressively but still managed to thread a short pass to Donyell Malen, with the Dutch winger making no mistake whatsoever and giving Dortmund the lead.

Just four minutes later, Malen took advantage of Madrid’s vulnerable backline and played a grounded cross to the far post, which was put in the back of the net by Jamie Gittens.

Not long after that, Rodrygo’s shot hit the post and Bellingham’s strike hit the cross bar as it began to seem like luck was not on Madrid’s side. The Englishman’s header soon was also comfortably pouched by the keeper.

The Merengues had their task cut out for the second half and came out all guns blazing. They reaped the rewards of their positive gameplay as Antonio Rüdiger helped pull one back in the 60th minute, thumping a header home from a cross by Kylian Mbappe.

Soon after, Luka Modric kept it simple and found Mbappe inside the box and the French striker unselfishly played a pass to Vinicius who just had to put the ball inside the empty net. In a matter of just two minutes, Los Blancos were back in the contest and the Bernabeu faithful pushed the players for more.

Nuri Sahin at this point had already fielded a back five at this point, which was a sign of him wanting his side to be more conservative as they thought they had the game in the bag and wanted to prevent Madrid from scripting a comeback.

In the 83rd minute, the ball was heading out for a goal kick but Rodrygo kept the ball in play, eventually playing a crucial pass which led to Lucas Vazquez giving Real Madrid the lead. But the game was not over yet and what followed was nothing short of greatness and some individual brilliance.

Real Madrid cleared a Dortmund corner, Jude Bellingham laid a pass to Vinicius Junior. The Brazilian ran from his own half into the oppositions half and after not finding enough options upfront, struck a thunderous shot in the bottom right corner to put the game to bed.

The winger was not done though. When everyone thought Real Madrid would see out the remaining minutes, Vini’s smashed a powerful strike into the top corner to all but seal the deal.

It was the Brazilian’s third hattrick of his career – other two being Levante and FC Barcelona – and first hattrick in the Champions League. Despite a thumping victory, Vinicius mentioned the need to play the way they did in the second half, in every game hereon.

Dortmund’s manager Nuri Sahin surrendered and acknowledged the fact that what Vini did, only a few players in the world can do.

Borussia Dortmund’s name gets added to the list of teams who succumbed to the magic of the Bernabeu. They got complacent and learnt a lesson the hard way. This hereby proves – if you come at the king, you best not miss.