Borussia Dortmund vs. Real Madrid: Halftime score 1-1, Ronaldo equalizes late for Madrid
Robert Lewandowski scored an early goal to give BVB a 1-0 lead, but a horrible mistake by Mats Hummels allowed Madrid to equalize right before the halftime break.
Borussia Dortmund scored early and then withstood some pressure late in the half before taking a 1-0 lead into the locker room at halftime. Robert Lewandowski’s sliding goal in the 9th minute is the differnece
BVB came flying out of the block early coming close to a goal before finding the back of the net before the ten minute mark of the first half.
in the 7th minute Sven Bender sprung Marco Reus on the counter attack with a tremendous tackle that freed the midfielder through the middle. Reus sliced into the Madrid area, going right around Raphael Varane before forcing a save from Diego Lopez, who could only parry the ball to the left. Robert Lewandowski just missed getting on the rebound but he would not miss a couple minutes later.
Ilkay Gündogan, who had a strong frist half, found Mario Götze wide on the left in the 9th minute with a quick pass. Götze made a cut back up-field and found Lewandowski at the far post for a sliding redirect past Lopez. Lewandowski had blown by Pepe in the Madrid box and there was nothing Lopez could do to stop the Polish international from staking Dortmund to an early 1-0 lead.
Madrid settled down after the goal and their increased possession allowed them to slow down the tempo and start creating some chances.
Cristiano Ronaldo generated Madrid's first real attacking moment of the game in the 24th minute, earning a free kick from 30-yards out. After his now famous stare down of the dead ball, Ronaldo launched a shot that curled over the wall and forced Roman Weidenfeller to parry the ball away. The keeper handled it well and the danger was cleared by Dortmund.
Marco Reus went down after some contact with Varane inside the Madrid box but the referee wanted nothing to do with it. Distracted by the non call, Dortmund were punished for the lapse in concentration as Mats Hummels made an ill-advised back pass that was picked up by Gonzalo Higuain who raced into the BVB box.
Higuain waited patiently for Ronaldo to catch up before crossing to the striker for an easy finish, giving Madrid a precious away goal right before the halftime break.
