Brilliant in the first leg and brave in the second Borussia Dortmund advanced to the UEFA Champions League final on Tuesday but only after fighting off Real Madrid over 10 final frantic minutes.
Real Madrid won the match at its Santiago Bernab u stadium 2 0 on goals by Karim Benzema in the 83rd minute and Sergio Ramos in the 88th. But Dortmund advanced on aggregate 4 3 on the strength of its 4 1 victory in the first leg. That lead seemingly insurmountable a week ago proved to be just large enough.
The late goals part of a flurry of chances in the last 10 minutes and five tense minutes of added time brought the stadium to life after a frustrating night that saw Real Madrid dominate at times but misfire again and again. In the first 15 minutes alone ngel Di Mar a and Cristiano Ronaldo shot high Mesut zil fired wide and Gonzalo Higua n hit the Dortmund goalkeeper in the chest with a shot.
Allowed up off the mat Dortmund steadied itself and nearly turned the tables. Robert Lewandowski who had all four goals in the first leg hit the crossbar in the 50th minute and Ilkay G ndogan staring at a gaping net in the 61st managed to hit the only obstacle that would have kept out his shot the scrambling goalkeeper Diego L pez.
The late entry of Benzema Kak and Sami Khedira brought life to Madrid s frustrated attack and a comeback seemed possible when Benzema redirected a cross from zil. When Ramos scored into the top of the net five minutes later as the crowd chanted s se puede ( yes we can ) it even seemed likely. But Dortmund hunkered down and held on advancing to the Champions League final for the first time since it won the title in 1997.
They are expected to meet their Bundesliga rival Bayern Munich which will take a 4 0 aggregate lead into its second leg match at Barcelona on Wednesday. No team has come back to win after losing the first leg by four goals but as Dortmund learned Tuesday no lead is safe until the final whistle.
Real Madrid Manager Jos Mourinho widely expected to leave the club to return to England s Premier League next season blamed his team s performance in the first leg for its fate.
We have been punished for that Mourinho said not for tonight.
To follow the game as it happened read on. And make sure to come back Wednesday for the other second leg semifinal Bayern Munich at Barcelona.
Madrid can have no complaints about losing this semifinal to Dortmund. OK it was a rip roaring finish and Madrid needed only one more goal to get through. But in this last four tie Madrid has been truly dominant for only the first 15 and last 15 minutes of the match in the Bernab u. The best Madrid managed in Dortmund was to control possession for a 15 minute spell before halftime. So if this were boxing and each half was a round I d score it three rounds to one for Dortmund. Also over four games in the competition between the teams Madrid lost twice away and won one and played to a draw at home. Dortmund showed it was the better team head to head.
What you can say is that Madrid gave it a real go today. After failing to convert those early chances it looked like the game was petering out but Madrid kept pushing and eventually got a couple of goals to make it interesting.
Dortmund could easily have scored a handful. Lewandowski seemed determined to spurn every chance that came his way almost as though he was taking pity on Madrid for having put them to the sword so ruthlessly last week. But then this was one of those games where tactics go out the window in the final frantic minutes. Madrid had Ramos playing center forward in a formation that was something like 3 2 5. Dortmund countered that with an unorthodox 6 3 1 lineup. The dream of a 10th European crown for Madrid ends. For Dortmund a trip to Wembley for the final on May 25 awaits.
Can Bayern Munich make it an all German final by finishing the job against Barcelona tomorrow
Mark Walsh
JAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA UCLfinal
Borussia Dortmund ( BVB) 30 Apr 13
But the Germans go through on aggregate 4 3 as Webb waves off one final dive in the box by Ronaldo.
By the closest of margins they are through to the final at Wembley on May 25. They pour onto the field hugging everwhere you look.
For Madrid the day was maddening. Then frustrating. Then thrilling.
And now nothing.
Andrew Das
They keep giving it back to Madrid Why
Andrew Das
91 Necesitamos un gol m s VAMOS halamadrid nuestrafuerzaerest
Real Madrid C. F. ( realmadrid) 30 Apr 13
Andrew Das
Could it be
No
Andrew Das
Stalling stalling ..
Andrew Das
The crowd chants. Yes we can. An Obama campaign rally breaks out.
Andrew Das
Bender s going to stay down until they build a hospital around him admit him to it and find out he s fine.
Everyone on the Madrid bench pointing to their watch. Even the guys who aren t wearing watches.
Andrew Das
Hammered home from 8 yards.
That s 4 3 on aggregate now.
Andrew Das
Weidenfeller tips his shot from the circle over.
Andrew Das
Thank goodness. I can put the salt and pepper away and the keyboard will live to fight another day. Madrid gets behind Dortmund s defense really for the first time this half with Benzema clipping a low cross into the roof of the net for 1 0. Too late for Madrid though. Though I won t stake my keyboard on anything yet.
Mark Walsh
Can I have a little shout here for the best player over the two legs How about Dortmund s Ilkay Gundogan Superb touch great composure holds his position in central midfield passes neatly and gets forward to support the forwards (he would have scored in both legs but for miracle saves by Diego L pez). He s 22 so by today s market standards he should be available for a mere 897 gazillion bucks.
Mark Walsh
Klopp tries to slow things down by taking off Lewandowski and sending on Sebastien Kehl.
Madrid promptly win a corner.
Andrew Das
Kaka threaded a pass that led Ozil deep on the right and he fired it in front for Benzema to redirect in. Simple as pie.
Weidenfeller gets a yellow and a thumping by two Madrid players for falling on the ball after it bounces out of the net and refusing to surrender it.
The crowd senses something now but they ve left it all a bit late.
Andrew Das
Well that s one.
Andrew Das
That s Madrid s fourth and the sixth of the match over all.
Andrew Das
Chances for Ronaldo chance for Gundogan Chance for Kak another chance for Lewandowski. It s not like this game has lacked excitement. But this now stinks of 0 0. Real look resigned Dortmund look doughty.
You know that post about eating my keyboard if this ends scoreless I mean we all know I was only joking right Figure of speech kind of thing
Mark Walsh
He poleaxes Reus out on the right. He ll miss the final not that that matters.
Tempers flaring a little as Mourinho is berating the fourth official about time or that foul or something.
Andrew Das
This is Dortmund s fourth game against Real Madrid this season. They won two of them and they ve yet to trail for a single minute in any of them.
Andrew Das
Ronaldo high Kaka wide left Khedira high. Tell me if you re sensing a pattern here.
Andrew Das
Sent in again by Ozil he toepokes the ball over the bar from 15 yards. Then waves around for a deflection a corner a better pass something anything Look inside your soul instead Cristiano. That one was your fault. He has been dangerously forgettable all day.
Andrew Das
Two great opportunities for Dortmund at the start of the second half highlight something you don t need to be a quantum physicist to realize As Madrid starts to get desperate the German team will get opportunities to score. Reus is starting to get more involved knitting things together and trying to release Lewandowski through on goal. But where Lewandowski couldn t miss last week this time round he can t seem to hit a barn door with a banjo. He could have had at least three more in this match if he had been in the same form.
Mourinho has had a last roll of the dice bringing on Kak and Karim Benzema but a comeback at this stage would be something to rival Manchester United vs. Bayern Munich in the 1999 final.
Mark Walsh
Mourinho Brazilians Portuguese Argentines and Spaniards clearly aren t the answer so let s try another German. Theirs seem to get this stuff.
Andrew Das
And Dortmund has caught it from Madrid.
Andrew Das
Reus takes a give and go with Lewandowski into the right side of the area drawing a defender and Lopez then slots across. But with the goal gaping Gundogan manages to hit the only obstacle a scrambling Lopez lunging back into position
Andrew Das
Kaka for Coentrao means three at the back for Madrid. So how does Benzema get into the box cross a lovely ball in front and find no one waiting at the far post.
Andrew Das
Kaka for Coentrao Benzema for Higuain who was wasteful and intemperate. Go sit in a corner.
Andrew Das
Kaka is one of them. But they keep rushing the ball into play so fast that Webb can t stop the game.
Andrew Das
It was nice of Mario G tze to bow out early on just so we could see how next season s Dortmund will do.
Stefan Bienkowski ( SBienkowski) 30 Apr 13
Andrew Das
Reus leads him in a minute later after he s left Sergio Ramos like a parked car but he rams his shot off the crossbar DOINNGGGG
Maybe no one is going to score today.
Andrew Das
Cut back quickly to Lewandowski at the spot he skies it into the second deck. That would have sent some people home.
Andrew Das
Dani Pozo/Agence France Presse Getty Images Dortmund s Neven Subotic front took on Gonzalo Higuain of Real Madrid.The key to Madrid s dominance in the opening quarter of an hour was the ability of zil and Di Mar a to probe the three quarter zone just in front of the Dortmund defense. That left Hummels and Subotic with the dilemma of whether to push up and stem the attacks or drop back and concede territory. Initially they dropped back playing into Madrid s hands and inviting the home team to pour forward. Chances followed and Dortmund must have hidden a lucky rabbit s foot somewhere not to have conceded a goal.
As the half progressed Dortmund s defensive line moved higher. Higua n zil and Ronaldo have been caught offside several times and so far the change in tactics is working. There s always the chance that Madrid will spring that offside trap at some point but Dortmund does have goals in hand and has now reached halftime which is a big hurdle. Mats Hummels whose mistake in the first leg presented a goal to Madrid has redeemed himself with a giant performance in the rearguard while Sven Bender just in front of the back four has been here there and everywhere putting out fires just in front of the defense.
The Polish striker Lewandowski is having a far less comfortable game with Ramos sticking his elbow in his face at every opportunity while Reus has been largely anonymous and G tze has limped off. But at this stage the result from the first game looks more than enough to send the Schwarzgelben through. If that s the case you can just hear Mourinho s post match news conference If only we d scored one of those chances in the opening period We left ourselves too much to do from the first leg But at least we gave it our best shot today
Mark Walsh
Madrid now going right to left in your mind s eye.
They immediately win a corner and wave their arms to urge the crowd on again.
Andrew Das
If he s smart Mourinho would have had his players get back on the bus walk off again and start the second half just like they started the first. Only with you know a few goals this time around. We said it before the game and say it again now a quick goal by Madrid could really shake this loose give them a little confidence and get into Dortmund s heads.
But every miss now just gives the Germans more confidence makes them think they re bulletproof that a berth in the final is inevitable.
Andrew Das
The first half was all Madrid. Except that they needed it to be partially Madrid but 1 0 or 2 0 by now. Which it should have been.
Has Dortmund stared down the worst of it Maybe. It s 0 0 but they re winning right now.
Andrew Das
For an open field tackle on Ronaldo that blunted a counterattack.
Webb may be trying to flex his muscles here. Pun intended.
Two minutes of added time.
Andrew Das
Gundogan s was for a foul in the center circle. The crowd appeals for a summary execution of him and another random Dortmund player. You know to teach them a lesson.
Higuain got one a moment ago for complaining. That one was an injustice according to the same crowd.
Andrew Das
They ve survived the first half hour and are now pushing back a bit. If they lose this tie Real Madrid will wonder for years how this night had gone had they banged in one or two of those early chances. They had the Germans by the neck and were squeezing but they ve let them up now. Getting them back down will be difficult.
Klopp can probably take off his safety glasses now. His team might be out of the danger zone.
Andrew Das ( AndrewDasNYT) 30 Apr 13
Andrew Das
Javier Soriano/Agence France Presse Getty Images Dortmund s Sven Bender left and Mats Hummels collided after jumping for the ball on Tuesday.A stunning start. Madrid has done everything but score Ronaldo Higua n and zil have all had gilt edged opportunities to get the Merengues on the road to recovery. Dortmund goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller saved the first two with zil dragging the third wide. But for the lack of a goal this was exactly what Madrid needed to do impose itself psychologically and tactically on the match. Or show Dortmund who s boss if you prefer.
Madrid is playing much higher up the pitch tonight not making the mistake of inviting Dortmund s attacking sprites to exploit the spaces between midfield and defense. Lewandowski has had a half chance but generally Ramos is much tighter to him than Pepe was last week. The tweak of bringing Di Mar a into the side has improved Madrid enormously. He offers much more penetration and is giving the Dortmund defense another dribbling threat to worry about apart from Ronaldo.
Dortmund has suffered the loss through injury of G tze which is a shame. As Madrid commit players forward spaces will open up behind and G tze would have been the chief user of those opportunities.
Only one problem for Madrid. For all the derring do it s still 0 0 on the night and the Merengues still need goals. Plenty of em.
If this ends 0 0 I ll eat my keyboard.
Mark Walsh
They re closing down players on defense especially Lewandowski far far better than they did in the first leg. It s just at this scoring thing at the other end is a big part of Mourinho s plan to pull this off and they re butchering that half of it so far.
Andrew Das
Maybe Real Madrid should sign Lewandowski. He would ve had four again by now with all these chances.
Andrew Das
Das war brutal. // That was brutal. rmdbvb
Borussia Dortmund ( BVB) 30 Apr 13
Though don t you dare pipe in with Brutal war Das in the comments.
Andrew Das
For stomping on Lewandowski s foot. Now if he had kicked him in the chest Webb might have looked the other way.
Andrew Das
Shots are 7 1 for Madrid on goal 5 0 corners 4 0.
Dortmund leads however 0 0.
Andrew Das
Based on chances this game Real Madrid should now be leading on aggregate 237 4.
Brian Phillips ( runofplay) 30 Apr 13
Andrew Das
Ronaldo and Ozil the latest to miss.
Ronaldo lunging volley hits Weidenfeller in the chest and bounces out and then caught napping Dortmund lets Ozil in alone on the right but he pulls his left footer wide.
Ronaldo of course insists he was open on the left. But why pass to the guy who keeps missing when you can miss yourself
Real Madrid really needs to get a reward for all this pressure because you can t expect them to keep it up forever otherwise. They need a carrot on the end of that stick and an opening goal would drive them forward nicely.
Andrew Das
Wow. Didn t see that coming.
Andrew Das
Curto De La Torre/Agence France Presse Getty Images Real Madrid s Xabi Alonso viesd with Dortmund s Ilkay Guendogan on Tuesday.Looks to be discussing an injury with the coaching staff. I think he grabbed his left hamstring but can t be sure.
Andrew Das
Higuain misses just wide on a header after Ozil s free kick but he was offside so we ll pretend that wasn t wasted in the traditional sense.
Everything going through Schmelzer right now. Literally right through him.
Stefan Bienkowski ( SBienkowski) 30 Apr 13
Andrew Das
This one rolls to Ronaldo on a ball dribbled into the area but he can t turn his hips around it and skies it over. That s two early chances wasted by Madrid. They re not really in a position to do that.
Andrew Das
Just seen an interesting tweet suggesting that the price of the Borussia Dortmund starting team in the first match was about $43 million. That s compared to the about $49 million Bayern Munich will pay for Mario G tze or the about $51 million Real Madrid paid for Luka Modric.
Mark Walsh
Dani Pozo/Agence France Presse Getty Images Real Madrid s Cristiano Ronaldo vied with Dortmund s Jakub Blaszczykowski on Tuesday.Weidenfeller quick off his line to turn away Higuain but a dangerous early chance. He slipped the offside trap on a pass from Ozil but got the ball caught up in his feet just long enough for the goalkeeper to close him down.
Andrew Das
and the crowd is on its feet. Yikes we re a bit excited inside the Bernabeu today.
Di Maria fires wildly high.
Andrew Das
Right on time. Dortmund kicks off and immediately gives the ball away. So that s it then. It s over .
Andrew Das
Remember folks Dortmund have yet to lose away from home this season.a comprehensive Madrid victory seems unlikely to me.
Stefan Bienkowski ( SBienkowski) 30 Apr 13
But real Madrid is unbeaten at home too so how to reconcile that Ask me in 90 minutes.
Andrew Das
Let me play devil s advocate here for a minute and see if I can make a case for Real Madrid digging itself out of the 4 1 hole it finds itself in after the first match in Dortmund.
It s been done before in European competition. It s even been done before by Madrid and if that wasn t enough heck it s also been done before by Real Madrid against German opposition. In the 1985/86 season Borussia M nchengladbach thrashed the Spanish side 5 1 at home in the UEFA Cup (the forerunner of today s Europa League the Continent s less prestigious cup). Game over Not at all Madrid roared back to win 4 0 at the Bernabeu. Still need convincing How about a bit of eerie coincidence Gladbach s manager at the time was Jupp Heynckes who would go on to coach Madrid to success in the 1998 Champions League final and is now coach of Bayern Munich which holds a 4 0 first leg lead over Barcelona in the other semifinal .
But that s all dry history. What do Madrid need to do to get back into this semifinal this year today Well tighten up that meek back line for a start. In central defense Pepe was hopeless in the first match and it s not surprising he misses out. Sergio Ramos moves into the middle of the rearguard to partner Rapha l Varane with Michael Essien an interesting choice at right back. Essien is normally a lung bursting midfielder so he may be in there to put more pressure on Dortmund s flanks particularly on Marco Reus and also perhaps to make it easier for Jose Mourinho to switch to a three man defense if he needs to up the attacking ante.
In midfield Madrid must retain possession much better than in the first leg. Xabi Alonso must rediscover his metronomic passing rhythm while the clever ball players Luka Modric and Mesut zil have to perform better. Mourinho has to attack so he has left out the holding midfielder Sami Khedira and selected Angel Di Mar a a quicksilver winger who can deliver killer passes and crosses and who also carries a goal threat.
Oh and a couple of other minor ( ) things. A goal or two before halftime would be a big fillip for the Merengues that would give Dortmund the willies and get the crowd in full song for a swashbuckling second half. And don t let Dortmund score. If Robert Lewandowski and co. hit the back of the net then that might be hammer in the last nail in the all white coffin. Easy peasy then.
Gulp. Do you buy it Good because I m not sure I do
Mark Walsh
Curious to see if Dortmund feels him out by kicking Xabi Alonso in the chest early.
Andrew Das
Though it s more of a partition today.
El muro amarillo s back. rmdbvb yellowwall http //t.co/EIkrw2UkCt
Borussia Dortmund ( BVB) 30 Apr 13
Andrew Das
Dortmund is trying to earn its second trip to the European Cup final. Real Madrid is trying for its 13th. But Madrid s last visit (2002) is almost as distant as Dortmund s (1997).
Andrew Das
He and Ian Wright report authoritatively from the Camp Nou that a healthy Leo Messi will be the key for Barcelona in Wednesday s game. Back to you.
Andrew Das
BVB Weidenfeller Piszczek Subotic Hummels Schmelzer G ndogan Bender Kuba G tze Reus Lewandowski bvb rmdbvb ucl
Borussia Dortmund ( BVB) 30 Apr 13
No changes from last week. And really why would there be any
TEAM NEWS BVB SUBS Langerak Felipe Santana Kehl Leitner Nuri ahin Grosskreutz Schieber.
Champions League ( ChampionsLeague) 30 Apr 13
Andrew Das
Hoy jugamos ocn Diego L pez Varane Ramos Coentr o Cristiano Ronaldo zil Xabi Alonso Essien Modric Higua n y Di Mar a halamadrid
Real Madrid C. F. ( realmadrid) 30 Apr 13
So Essien starts at right back. Let s hope he plans to be useful going forward because if he stays there Dortmund could skin him alive.
Banquillo del Real Madrid Casillas Pepe Khedira Kak Benzema Albiol y Morata halamadrid
Real Madrid C. F. ( realmadrid) 30 Apr 13
Andrew Das
It s either over or it s not. Which side are you on
The realists say Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich settled the Champions League semifinals last week thumping Real Madrid and Barcelona on consecutive days. The optimists come from a few different camps Bar a and Real supporters fingering their rosary beads unrepentant contrarians soccer junkies looking for a fix but they are united in one opinion they would like the realists to just hold on a darn second please.
I put myself firmly in the second camp on Sunday when I less than seriously gamed out hypotheticals in which both Real Madrid and Barcelona wiped out their deficits to set up a Cl sico to end all Cl sicos. Were those scenarios likely Of course not. But don t go saying that on the streets of Madrid.
In Spain s capital Sid Lowe writes in The Guardian they call it a remontada a comeback and it holds a special place in the city s hearts
The words of the forward Juanito in April 1986 are now the stuff of legend. Madrid had been beaten 3 1 by Internazionale in the first leg of a UEFA Cup tie and afterwards Juanito warned Madrid s opponents in cod Italian Noventi minuti en el Bernab u son molto longo. Ninety minutes in the Bernab u are a very long time. Whenever Madrid are up against it they invoke the spirit of a player whose words are given added symbolism because he died in a car crash in 1992.
Madrid won the second leg 4 1. There have been other examples too Madrid beat Anderlecht 6 1 after a 3 0 first leg defeat in 1984 and in 1985 they beat both Inter 3 0 having lost the first leg 2 0 and Borussia M nchengladbach 4 0 after a 5 1 defeat. The tradition went all the way back to 1976 and a 5 1 win over Derby County having lost 4 1 in the first leg. Opponents came to the Bernab u and panicked.
So yes Dortmund has scored eight goals and surrendered only four in three games against Madrid in this year s Champions League. But to quote an Italian who knew a little about winning it ain t over til it s over. So why not root for a remontada at least for a half and see if things get interesting Why not savor the 90 minutes or maybe more as pure theater or just as your last Gus Johnson free game of the tournament (he ll call Wednesday s Bayern Barcelona game as well as presumably the final in London on May 25)
Or why not tune in this week simply to take a mental picture That s what the Goal blog s Stefan Bienkowski suggests pointing out that however this week s games end up they signal the end of a (brief) glorious era for both Dortmund and Bayern
One of the most compelling features of European soccer is the quick paced nature of its constant reinvention. This week two German contenders stand on the cusp of overthrowing an established Spanish monopoly. Yet even with success on the horizon these two clubs already bear the signs of inevitable change.
At Dortmund the warning of change looms with an insulting degree of clarity. Last week we learned that Mario G tze would be switching shirts heading to Bayern Munich for a modest fee of just under $40 million (the rumored amount to buy out his release fee). This week it s Robert Lewandowski the Polish striker who had four goals against Real Madrid in the first leg who stands as a new reminder to his club s loyal fans that change is afoot.
Like the Ajax side of the mid 1990s that captured the imagination of a continent with a young attacking team before ultimately losing all its key players after winning the European Cup in 1995 this Dortmund team looks helpless to the vultures of larger clubs with bigger budgets and more enticing prospects.
In Bavaria a similar story lurks in the shadow of Bayern Munich s success. Despite the euphoria of domestic and continental domination Jupp Heynckes s season of triumph has been undermined since the winter break with the imminent arrival of Pep Guardiola. The Spanish fly in this otherwise perfect ointment has brought out a darker side of Bayern Munich from composed and dedicated winners to a club always ready to throw suspected champions out the back door for the next best thing.
With plans for next season s acquisitions already taking shape the very fabric that makes this Bayern squad so great is already at risk. Where Arjen Robben may glide down the right wing or Thomas M ller battles through the final third to such success now a new manager and a short list of replacements in place. For Heynckes and his squad this May is the end of the road win or lose. Regardless of whether they win their first European Cup in 12 years. Regardless of whether they cement themselves as the definitive force in Europe. Any success promises a bitter aftertaste.
The phrase out with the old and in with the new is most fitting in the modern game of soccer but it underlines the need to stop and appreciate a team we enjoy before the nature of the sport has its way with it.
Perhaps in that sense we should just take a step back this spring and appreciate these two fantastic sides for what they are. Before they re gone for good.
Andrew Das
