Madrid survive mighty Dortmund scare
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E-mail Xinhua, April 9, 2014
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Marco Reus wheels away after driving in Dortmund's second goal. |
Marco Reus' brace was not enough for Dortmund as visiting Real Madrid progressed into semifinals with a 3-2 triumph on aggregate following the second leg of Champions League quarterfinals on Tuesday.
Dortmund staged a frenetic game against Real Madrid that lacked in penetration and ideas. The hosts dominated the first half with two goals by Marco Reus but Juergen Klopp's men eventually failed to equalize the 3-0 first-leg loss.
Due to the 3-0 first-leg win Real Madrid was in the happy position to implement their wait-and-see strategy against Dortmund that needed a 3-0 to ensure overtime or a 4-0 victory to secure the next round.
Nevertheless, Dortmund were unable to gain a foothold into the opening period in which the visitors let the ball do the work. Things nearly worsened for "BVB" when referee Damir Skomina awarded Real a handball penalty, caused by Lukasz Piszczek, in the 17th minute.
Mysteriously, Andre Di Maria's shot from spot was denied by "BVB" goalkeeper Roman Weidenfeller with a full-stretch dive.
The blocked penalty gave the hosts a boost as Marco Reus opened the scoring just seven minutes later. The midfielder capitalised on a misplaced header by defender Pepe to round Ilker Casillas for the opener into the open goal.
The "BVB" continued their powerful run as they sniffed the chance to try to complete their comeback. Klopp's men rewarded themselves when Marco Reus wrapped up his brace in the 37th minute. Reus smashed home a rebound by Lewandowski.
After the restart, Real Madrid worked out their first threatening chances through Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema before Dortmund's Henrikh Mikitarayan had the best chance following a pass into to path by Reus. The Armenian rounded Casillas but the left post denied his effort on target in the 65th minute.
Dortmund pressed but lacked in precision, and Real Madrid remained wasteful on the counters. In the end, Dortmund were not able to score their third of the night therefore Carlo Ancelotti's side advanced.
"It is incredible what my team has done today. The team by all means wanted to progress into the next round. I cannot blame my team for the exit," Dortmund coach Klopp said.
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