Borussia Dortmund vs. Real Madrid, 2012 UEFA Champions League: Der BVB downs Merengues

Shortly afterwards, with Real Madrid’s defence all at sea, it was Robert Lewandowski who gave the hosts the lead. A poor pass from Pepe allowed the waiting Kehl to intercept, and the Dortmund captain played in Lewandowski, who had escaped into an ocean of space between Madrid’s dawdling centre-backs. A smart finish past Iker Casillas’ near post put Dortmund 1-0 up.

Their lead didn’t last long, however, with Cristiano Ronaldo equalising at the other end. Mesut Ozil was also given a criminal amount of space in midfield, and punished the hosts with a perfectly-weighted pass to Ronaldo, who finishe with a gorgeous chip to cancel out Dortmund’s lead.

When a cross was floated into the box, Casillas needlessly met it with an awful punch, which combined with a total lack of communication between the keeper and Raphael Varane, allowed Schmelzer to collect the ball and fire home. Los Merengues’ defence did not cover themselves in glory either, allowing Schmelzer the freedom of the area for the goal, a common theme throughout proceedings this evening. Last time, Dortmund’s lead lasted just a few minutes, and it will be interesting to see the response from the away side.

It had otherwise been a relatively uneventful half, and Casillas had produced two other good saves, including showing some fine reflexes to deny Mario Gotze, but he has still looked uncomfortable all game. This performance will certainly do nothing to dispel the David de Gea rumours....

The game had gotten off to a scrappy start, with a wet pitch seemingly making both teams reluctant to play too quickly, but there was also sloppy play from both sides, who struggled to get a grip on the game.

The lead was not to last long for Dortmund, however. Much like his opposite number Mario Gotze, Mesut Ozil had been largely untracked whenever he could be found, and after picking the ball up in midfield, found Cristiano Ronaldo surging into the box with a wonderfully-weighted pass. The pace and power of the Portuguese forward had looked Madrid’s most likely outlet for most of the half, though his finish was one of delicate beauty, producing a perfect chip to level the scores.

It was a beautifully-crafted goal from Los Merengues, with Mesut Ozil picking up the ball in midfield and playing a perfect pass to Ronaldo, who surged towards goal with pace and power but pulled off a sublime and delicate chip to beat Roman Wiedenfeller.

The game has suddenly exploded into life overall - what was a scrappy affair is still exactly that, but the attackers are very much on top here, with both sides enjoying a fair bit of space on the pitch. Neither defence looks confident and both teams’ double pivots are completely failing to track their opponents’ runners - not great news for either team’s title hopes, but it’s certainly making for an entertaining spectacle. Game very much on.

It’s the home side who have taken the lead in Dortmund, with Robert Lewandowski getting himself on the scoresheet to put his team into the lead.

It’s been a scrappy affair, with neither side covering themselves in glory defensively - shortly before, Neven Subotic almost gifted Real Madrid an opening, before immediately playing Lewandowski through who was very unfortunate to be judged to have fouled Raphael Varane as he bore down on goal. With defending like this, there are goals in this one.

It’s been an uneventful start to the game in Dortmund with both teams preferring to probe cautiously rather than going in all guns blazing just yet.

Real Madrid have named a largely makeshift defence as they travel to Borussia Dortmund tonight.

Dortmund’s lineup is largely as expected, a 4-2-3-1 with Robert Lewandowski alone up front. Madrid’s defence has performed admirably so far, but with Essien playing out of position and the untested Varane brought in, BVB will be looking to test their backline at any opportunity.

Dortmund, meanwhile, are coming off a crushing domestic loss. Jürgen Klopp threw out a back three against bitter rivals Schalke without ever training his team in the formation and the results were disastrous, as the visitors pulled off a stunning win at the Westfalenstadion. It should be fairly obvious whether that result motivated or discouraged Dortmund early on against Madrid.

Borussia Dortmund injuries and suspensions