Real Madrid 3-2 Dortmund Champions League match report

Real Madrid 3-2 Borussia Dortmund: match report

Lucas Vazquez grabbed the winner nine minutes from time for the European champions, who were already guaranteed to go through to the last 16 as runners-up in Group H to Tottenham Hotspur.

Ronaldo took his tally to nine goals in six Europan appearances this season with a spectacular long-range effort into the top corner after Borja Mayoral's opener gave Real a 2-0 lead inside 12 minutes.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang continued his excellent record against Madrid with a quickfire double either side of half-time to bring Dortmund level.

But despite Vazquez's late strike, the Germans drop into the Europa League with a record low two points thanks to their better goal difference over APOEL Nicosia, who were defeated 3-0 at Spurs.

Real were, though, hit by a fresh injury blow as Raphael Varane limped off just before half-time.

Zinedine Zidane now faces a defensive crisis ahead of the visit of Sevilla on Saturday with captain Sergio Ramos, right-back Dani Carvajal and holding midfielder Casemiro all suspended.

Real Madrid 3-2 Borussia Dortmund live stream online: as it happened

Madrid vs Dortmund live stream online: match preview

Real Madrid host Borussia Dortmund at the Bernabéu in a match of zero importance for the home side but hugely significant for the visitors. Peter Bosz’s side are enduring a miserable run of results that has seen Dortmund slip to sixth in the Bundesliga, 10 points adrift of leaders Bayern Munich, and that included surrendering a four-goal lead in the Ruhr derby against Schalke two weeks ago.

Die Schwarzgelben have already been eliminated from the Champions League without winning a single game and could miss out on the Europa League if they fail to get a result in Madrid. Apoel, level on points with Dortmund and tied in the head-to-head stakes but at a seven-goal disadvantage, travel to London to play Spurs who have already qualified as group winners. That may lead Mauricio Pochettino to rest a raft of key players at Wembley, removing Dortmund’s safety blanket at the same time.

Real Madrid

The C word looms large over the Bernabéu after Real failed to capitalize on dropped points elsewhere at the weekend in a goalless stalemate in San Mamés that marked the third time the reigning champions have failed to find the net in the league this season after a scoring streak of 73 games was brought to a halt against Betis in September.

In Europe, the panorama is more comforting. Zinedine Zidane’s side secured their own progress in the last round of fixtures by beating Apoel comfortably in Nicosia but cannot catch Tottenham in top spot. That will lead the Real boss to hand some playing time to his fringe squad members - although Cristiano Ronaldo will inevitably start as he targets his own record, set last season, of scoring 11 times in the group stage. A hat-trick will suffice to match that feat.

With a key match against Sevilla at the weekend the likes of Toni Kroos, Luka Modric, Karim Benzema and Isco can expect the evening off but Zidane will probably retain the spine of his preferred side in Keylor Navas, Sergio Ramos, Casemiro and Ronaldo. Both the captain and the Brazilian midfielder are suspended for the visit of Sevilla and the Costa Rica keeper needs the game time after a lengthy injury layoff.

Achraf Hakimi is likely to come in for Dani Carvajal on the right with Theo Hernández deputizing for Marcelo on the left. In midfield Lucas Vázquez, Mateo Kovacic and Dani Ceballos are likely start behind Ronaldo and the little-used Borja Mayoral.

Dortmund

Bosz’s boss, Dortmund chairman Hans-Joachim Watzke, made his side’s priority clear before the side set off for Madrid: “We want to continue playing in Europe so a draw at least would be good.”

Historically, Dortmund have not fared terribly at the Bernabéu, picking up two draws from six games in Madrid’s fiefdom. But the form of Bosz’s side has already led to the dreaded vote of confidence being uttered by sporting director Michael Zorc after a 1-1 draw at Bayer Leverkusen last weekend.

During that game Maximilian Philipp and Gonzalo Castro were added to Dortmund’s lengthy injury list, which already included World Cup final hero Mario Götze, Marco Reus, Sebastian Rode, Erik Durm, Lukasz Piszczek and Jacob Bruun Larsen.

Dortmund’s requirement to at least match Apoel’s result – and the fact they will be facing a diluted Madrid – may lead Bosz to throw caution to the wind and field an attacking side. In Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang Bosz has a player who has bagged 17 goals in 19 games in all competitions but Dortmund have failed to score more than once in five Champions League games this season. It may take more than that to secure a positive result in the Bernabéu: Ronaldo may be misfiring in the league but in Europe he remains as prolific as ever and has found the net at least once in every continental outing in 2017-18.

Real Madrid vs Borussia live online: possible line-ups

Real Madrid: Navas; Achraf, Ramos, Varane, Hernández; Casemiro, Ceballos, Kovacic, Vázquez; Ronaldo, Mayoral.

Coach: Zinedine Zidane

Borussia Dortmund: Bürki; Sokratis, Subotic, Schmelzer; Bartra, Weigl, Sahin, Guerreiro; Jarmolenko, Aubameyang, Pulisic.

Coach: Peter Bosz

Real Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund live online: selected betting odds

Real Madrid are favourites for victory at 6/4 while Dortmund are priced at 11/2 with the draw at 15/4. Cristiano Ronaldo is chalked up at 7/1 to bag a hat-trick and 9/4 to score first with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang at 11/2 to open the scoring.

Bet on Real Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund

Real Madrid

• España

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B. Dortmund

• Alemania

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