Can Real Madrid Push Past Borussia Dortmund in Champions League Semi-final?
After a 1-4 defeat to Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League semi-final first leg, Real Madrid will look to come out of the gates in full-force this week at the Santiago Bernabeu. Both Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich asserted their German dominance over the coveted Spanish counterparts of Madrid and Barcelona and will look to do so again in the second leg as well.
Madrid do however, have a crucial away goal to their names which could prove vital this week against a resurgent Dortmund side. A three-goal deficit in any league, especially the Champions League is not too far-fetched; however, Jose Mourinho’s side are certainly up against it with a very well organized, disciplined and attacking minded squad that Jurgen Klopp has put in place over the past three seasons.
Can “The Special One” work his Champions League magic as he did with Inter Milan, and FC Porto? Certainly, the Portuguese manager will have a few managerial and tactical tricks up his sleeve, yet Klopp having faced Madrid, Manchester City and Ajax in the group stages of the competition, both sides know each other fairly well.
As an all German Champions League final at Wembley Stadium on May 25th looks fairly imminent, we must not look past a very capable Real Madrid side. With Cristiano Ronaldo, Mesut Ozil, Sammy Khedira, Karim Benzema and Angel Di Maria all at Mourinho’s fingertips - an early goal could certainly open up the match for the home side.
Ronaldo will likely lead the Madrid attack as he has all season, but the task seems to rest with the Dortmund back line of Marcel Schmelzer, Lukasz Piszczek, Neven Subotic, and Mats Hummels who all played key roles in slowing down a potent Madrid attack. The opening stages of the second leg in Madrid could be crucial for the visitors to remain steadfast in their defensive approach, while also retaining possession thus counting on Robert Lewandowski, Marco Reus, Sven Bender, and Bayern Munich bound Mario Gotze to snag a few goals of their own.
Mourinho may even employ his rarely used Brazilian, Kaka to conjure up a little magic in the center of the park. At the same time, the manager indicated that what his side are up against, is not unattainable. Mourinho told The Guardian “Anything can happen next week [...] I’ll tell [the players] to fight and every one of us must be ready next Tuesday.”
Liverpool overcame a three goal deficit to overcome AC Milan in the 2005 Champions League final, thus showing that anything is possible. Football is a beautiful game as the game is played because on any given day, the “underdog” can overcome the largest of obstacles. On Tuesday evening - Real Madrid face their next obstacle, which Mourinho will likely ready them for a match for the ages.
