Borussia Dortmund are on the brink of reaching the final of the Uefa Champions League as they take a 4-1 lead into the second leg of their semi final meeting with Real Madrid on Tuesday.
Lewandoski grabbed the
headlines after his four goal haul in Dortmund's stunning victory over
Real last week but it was far from a one man show as Dortmund had the
better of Real in every department. After taking an early lead the
German side gifted Real an equaliser before regrouping at the break and
swamping their opponents in the second half. No excuses were offered by
Jose Mourinho and Real have the proverbial mountain to climb if they are
to avoid a semi final exit to German opponents for the second
successive season.
Since the first leg
Dortmund took the opportunity to rest the bulk of their likely starters
here and still pulled off a 2-1 Bundesliga win away at Dusselfdorf. It's
their Champions League form which is most relevant though and the signs
are good for Jurgen Klopp who's team has yet to lose in this
competition this season. Their three away fixtures in the group stage
included a 2-2 draw with Real in Madrid, a 1-1 draw at Manchester City
and a 4-1 win over Ajax in Amsterdam. Their two away legs in the
knockout rounds delivered a 2-2 draw with Shakthar in Donetsk and 0-0
draw at Malaga. They finished the job at home in both of those ties so
the terms are slightly different here with Dortmund now defending a
first leg lead.
Real also made wholesale
changes to their side for Saturday's derby away at Atletico and like
Dortmund in their domestic fixture, Real came away with a 2-1 win. They
went out on penalty kicks to Bayern in the Champions League semi finals
last season after both sides won their home legs 2-1, the second of
which was staged in Madrid. Twelve months on this is an even bigger ask
but Real did beat Galatasaray 3-0 in the first leg of their quarter
final match up and a repeat of that result would see them through here.
However Dortmund look far stronger than Galatasaray and Real were
previously held 1-1 at home to Manchester United in the last 16. The
size of their task is perhaps best illustrated in the betting markets.
