CHAMPIONS LEAGUE SEMI RESULT | REAL MADRID 2 BORUSSIA DORTMUND 0 ( 3 - 4 BORUSSIA ON AGGREGATE )

The longed for "miracle" almost occurred, Real Madrid won 2 - 0 Borussia Dortmund in an epic game of European Football that in the end resulted in the elimination of Real Madrid due to the final 3 - 4 aggregate score after the two semi-final matches that has favoured Borussia Dortmund.

The effort from Real Madrid was titanic,  but the real damage was all done in the 1ºst leg where the 4 goals from the Germans was too much. At least the Spanish Club died on the field with their "Football Boots" on, with a brave victory & with pride. Said this, the Germans will be be remembered,  & with a place in the Final at Wembley. 


Champions League 2013

Real Madrid in the first half had three - four chances of goal that would have given them the semi-final tie. An unexplained miss by Gonzalo Higuain in the 7th min will haunt him & may have sentenced his exit from the Club as the Argentine shirks on the big occasions. Then Cristiano Ronaldo missed a volley that although difficult in execution was goal bound. Then the "sitter" of the night when Ozil missed a clear goal, when he had Ronaldo free on the other end. If any of these three goals have gone in we would be now talking of a "miracle" & German elimination. 

Champions League 2013

But Borussia Dortmund had something to do in all this. They held out magnificently the Spanish onslaught & even created their own chances which could have given them a goal or two. As Real Madrid risked in attacking the Germans found spaces & nearly scored. 

In the second half Real Madrid Coach Mourinho risked all out & put all his cards on the table. He took off defender Coentrao, & left a 3 man defence with Kaka & Benzema coming on. This left open spaces when Madrid lost the ball & Real Madrid goalkeeper Diego Lopez made a "magnificent" save from Lewandowski that kept his team alive & shut the critics to why he is currently preferred over Casillas. 

Champions League 2013

Then in the 82th min Real Madrid finally opened the "German Can" with a goal from Benzema from an Ozil pass. This set the stadium on fire & allowed Real Madrid to contemplate the possibility of a turnaround. The second goal came in the 87th min when Benzema found Sergio Ramos in the goal square who scored & opened further the possibility of a "miracle". Borussia then totally defended & thanks to their Captain goalkeeper Weindenfeller they hang on as he brilliantly saved a Benzema header that would have eliminated them. In the end with an extra 5 minutes the Germans stood firm & did their job with a fought qualification for the UEFA Champions League Final.

On a whole one must be proud of all the Real Madrid players who left their soul on the pitch tonight. Sergio Ramos was outstanding along with Varane, not to mention a superb Diego Lopez in the goalkeeping area. Modric run his heart out along with Di Maria & Ozil who ran himself into the turf. Xabi Alonso was carrying an injury as with Cristiano Ronaldo but they tried. Kaka was very good when he came on & Benzema did well, so much so, that Higuian will finish tonight questioned & "wounded". Why did he start?

Unfortunately, Football is cruel & Real Madrid will remember their first half missed chances. I insist if any of the three or four opportunities had gone in we would be celebrating a Spanish Club berth into the Final at Wembley.

From a Spanish Football point of view, we have one last standing Champions League representative in FC Barcelona which has an even more difficult endeavour tomorrow night against Bayern Munich. What tonight's match should signal to Barça is that "a turnaround" is possible & if you convert your chances early your opponent will get nervous & open further the opportunities. I wish Barcelona all the luck in the World tomorrow in what will be another top notch game of Football.

To end, congratulations to Borussia Dortmund for their game & Finals berth. I wish them all luck as well. What will be interesting now is to see the Jose Mourinho reaction to the loss & Champions League elimination. Some say that he will finally let known his future at Real Madrid, with most observers speculating that he will announce his exist. Stay tuned on this front.


Meanwhile for Real Madrid fans, they have another title up for grabs too heal wounds, with the Spanish Cup Final on the 17th of May against Atletico de Madrid.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I have a question in regards to the result of the Real Madrid/Borussia Dortmund ties. The aggregate ended as 4 home goals for Dortmund and 0 away. RM however, had 2 home and 1 away. If away goals count as double, Why is it that the second match didn't go to extra time?

Thank you for your answer and your blog,

Mayas Alsafi

STRIKER said...

Hi Mayas
I case of a drawn agg score the away goal = double.

Had RM won 3 - 0 ( & NO BD goal away) 4-4 to RM would have been double

Cheers

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