Borussia Dortmund 2 - 1 Real Madrid: BVB Capitalize on Poor Defending from Madrid

Dortmund were the better of the two sides as they won against the odds over a side containing some of the best talents in the world. This victory will come to most as a surprise, however followers of the Bundesliga will find little shock in this result. The Germans played to their strengths with quick counter-attacking and high pressing to exploit a poor Madrid defence, which was missing a natural left-back as Essien filled in but poorly as he was one of the weak links which Klopp took advantage of.

The home side lined up in the usual 4-2-3-1 formation with Weidenfeller, who performed greatly in their previous European match against Manchester City, starting as expected in the net. Ahead of him lied Piszcek, Hummels, Subotic, and Schmelzer in tthe bank of four protected by holding midfielders Bender and Sebastien Kehl, the captain. The 3 men behind striker Lewandowski were Kevin Großkreutz on the left, Mario Gotze behind the Polish number 9, and Marco Reus positioned against out of position Essien on the right of midfield.

Dortmund's 4-2-3-1 was up against Madrid's 4-2-3-1 as  Casillas started in net behind a back line of Essien, who was at left-back as both Coentrao and Marcelo were unavailable through injury, a partnership of Varane and Pepe was seen in the centre with Ramos finishing off the bank at right-back. Ahead of them was Xabi Alonso and Khedira, who was substituted off in the 19th minute for Luka Modric after the German suffered an injury. Mesut Ozil returned to his home nation as the central player in Madrid's bank of 3, with Ronaldo and Di Maria flanking him. Benzema started up front and faced a tough challenge against Mats Hummels and Neven Subotic in the Dortmund defence.

First Half

 

Madrid have Majority of Possession, but Fail to Challenge Weidenfeller Enough

The away side dominated the proceedings, especially at the start, however with all the time with the ball that they had, the Spanish side didn't test the opposition goal enough. This wasn't necessarily the away side's fault however, both teams had struggled against the slippery surface, and it was difficult for the players to maintain balance whilst shooting on goal.

Ending the half with 56% possession, Mourinho's men will be disappointed that they failed to create more chances, though their German opposition pressed well, and forced the Madrid players into moving away from the Dortmund half, especially when the two holding midfielders received the ball. The closing down was typical from a determined Dortmund side, and their efforts were rewarded when Pepe made a big mistake to concede the opening goal of the night.

Pepe Makes Frequent Mistakes, and is at Fault for the First Goal

The Portuguese Madrid defender Pepe played poorly throughout the first half, which was again partly down to the surface, however he was often behind the play, and nothing can be an excuse for that. Pepe's sloppiness was finally exploited by the opposition when Dortmund pressed well onto a misplaced pass by the Portuguese which was picked up by Mario Gotze, who then fed a simple ball into forward Lewandowski, who produced a great finish to shoot past Casillas.

Klopp's side were looking to win the ball high up constantly with their high and intense pressing and they nearly caught the opposition out on numerous occasions as the Spaniards failed to complete numerous easy passes.

Dortmund Slightly on Top in First Half

It was a typical performance by the home side, as usual they kept compact and pressed well, whilst looking to win the ball high up field through their tireless closing down and create fluid counter-attacks with many quick passes which the German side are known for.

Both sides made mistakes, however Mourinho's side more so, and this probably put the home side on top, who looked quicker and more threatening on the attack despite having less possession than the away side.

Second Half

Dortmund Score Again after More Poor Defending from Madrid

Mourinho's side played poorly in every aspect, but primarily their defending, which cost them for both goals which was unlike any side of the Portuguese manager. Pepe in particular frequently made mistakes, the defender completed just 75% of the 51 passes he attempted, but Casillas was to blame for the second goal when the experienced 'keeper produced a poor punch and failed to clear the ball which was put in by left-back Schmelzer.

Borussia Dortmund are a side who can attack so quickly and fluently upon winning the ball high up the field, with short passes and lots of movement, they can undo a defence with ease and Madrid were caught out too many times from misplaced passes, which they were punished for.

Ronaldo Leaves out of Position Essien Exposed

Though he was a threat on the counter-attack when Madrid were in need of a goal, Ronaldo on the left wing left Michael Essien very vulnerable behind him, who was often doubled up on by Reus and Schmelzer when Ronaldo failed to track back. This forced Xabi Alonso to move out wide to try and support the awkward looking Ghanaian, but the Spaniard was late in covering most of the time, as he picked up a yellow after making 4 fouls - the second highest amount in the match (Lewandowski - 6).

Klopp's side exploited this which was Madrid's main weakness throughout the match, you'd have expected Mourinho to come up with a solution to this problem as he is such a good reactive tactician, though the exploitation of this weakness would have been a lot less simple had Ronaldo simply worked harder in the defending aspect, though the Portugal star was needed to still be a counter-attacking threat, which gave Mourinho a dilemma which he did (or could do) little to solve.


In the end, Dortmund deserved their win which was labelled 'unexpected' by most, though those familiar with the Bundesliga will know just how good the German champions are. Madrid were very wasteful in the final third which played a part in their downfall, getting just 2 shots on target from 14 attempts, just 14%. The victory leaves Dortmund sitting top of the 'group of death' which has the talents of Man City and Madrid, who everyone expected to qualify.

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