It was the night of Dortmund Polish forward Lewandowski scored all four goals for his team. The player is rumoured to be on his way to Bayern Munich next season with team-mate Gotze & he showed us all why Bayern are willing to pay big bucks for the striker.
Borussia Dortmund started as expected strong & attacked Real Madrid early, they pressured the defence & in particular Pepe & found their first goal early in the 7th min thanks to Lewandowski. Not to bad for Real Madrid which needed to find itself, regain control of things & keep the Germans at bay. Things were moving evenly until Dortmund relaxed & German defender Hummel made a mistake that Higuain pounced on to find Cristiano Ronaldo to tap in the equalizer in the 42nd min. This was important for Real Madrid as it was the prized away goal.
Things could have stay like this for the Spaniards but the second half was a complete disaster on all fronts. Too many lost balls in the midfield & defensive errors that allowed the Germans to steal, attack & score. The Borussia Polish striker - Lewandowski - grew & grew & scored a second in the 50th min that signed what was yet to arrive. The third goal 5 minutes later from Lewandowski was a gem, control, coolness, turn & goal. Pure class that had Real Madrid rattled & without any real answers to stop the Germans. The final punch then came in the 66th min when Borussia was awarded a penalty committed by Xabi Alonso that Lewandowski fired home.
Real Madrid then brought on Di Maria & Benzema & found some opportunities in an attempt to lessen the "bashing" & lift chances for the 2º leg return game in Madrid. They could not score & left with their heads down knowing that a near miracle will be needed at Madrid to turn this semi-final around, an almighty 3 - 0 result will be needed without the Germans scoring. With what was witnesses tonight I doubt that the last scenario will be possible for Real Madrid.
Like Barcelona yesterday against Bayern, some big Real Madrid names just did not shine. One that was absolutely missed was Ozil, if the midfieder is not firing the Spanish Team feels his absence. Modric was down, Higuain did little & Cristiano Ronaldo although a scorer was not his usual self. Said this, merit must go to Real Madrid goalie Diego Lopez who made a few saves that would have left the scoreline greater for Borussia had he not intervened. The Germans were more faster, disciplined & I would say, more hungry. Real Madrid was exploited in the defence, a sign that Coach Klopp had studied well his rival beforehand.
Can Real Madrid turn this semi-final around at Madrid? Unlike Barcelona with Bayern at least Real has an away goal. But the endeavour of scoring three goals without allowing Dortmund seems very unlikely after what was seen tonight. I would say almost impossible, but who knows, right? Perhaps its my wishful thinking.
Congratulations to Dortmund, very impressive tonight & well deserved the victory. Everything is looking like an all German Champions League Final, barring miracles.
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