Borussia Dortmund vs. Real Madrid, 2014 UEFA Champions League: BVB come up just short

Amazingly, Real Madrid could have put the tie to bed after just 17 minutes when Lukas Piszczek was whistled for a handball in the box, but Roman Weidenfeller made an excellent save of Angel Di Maria’s spot kick to keep BVB alive, something they took advantage of not long after.

With a goal in the bank and Madrid’s lead down to two goals, the Westfalenstadion crowd came alive, but their excitement was taken to a whole other level in the 37th minute. That’s when Robert Lewandowski hit the post, but Reus hopped onto the rebound and blasted it into the open net.

The Madrid attack looks lost at the moment and Pepe has been extremely shaky in defense. This is truly anyone’s tie.

A 3-1 deficit is still a lot to overcome, but Dortmund are in with a chance.

Borussia Dortmund look dead and buried after losing to Real Madrid, 3-0, in the first leg of their UEFA Champions League quarterfinal, but they may have been handed a lifeline thanks to an injury to Cristiano Ronaldo. The Real Madrid star limped off the field at training yesterday and is not in the lineup for today’s second leg, giving BVB some hope that they can pull off a comeback at the Westfalenstadion.

Luckily for Real, they have plenty of talent, even if no one else they have is as good as Ronaldo. Gareth Bale, who some thought might not play, is in the lineup and with Luka Modric, Angel Di Maria and Karim Benzema, should give the visitors plenty of firepower going forward.

Match date/time: Tuesday, 2:45 p.m. ET, 8:45 p.m. local

Venue: Signal-Iduna-Park, Dortmund, Germany