Real Madrid Draw Borussia Dortmund to Finish 2nd in Group F
By Ben Sundock
Real Madrid drew with Borussia Dortmund in the final game of the UEFA Champions League Group Stage in another competitive back-and-forth match between the two evenly matched clubs. The draw means that Dortmund finish top of the group with 14 points (4 wins and 2 draws) while Real finish second with 12 points (3 wins and 3 draws).
Real Madrid squandered a two goal lead and limped to a 2-2 draw in the Santiago Bernabeu Wednesday night. Two goals from Karim Benzema in the 28th and 53rd minutes put Los Blancos comfortably in the lead nearing the hour mark.
However, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang netted a goal in the 61st minute to pull Dortmund back in the game and then it was Aubameyang again who sprang a Real Madrid like counterattack beating the Real back four and crossing a beautiful ball right onto the waiting foot of Marco Reus who redirected the star covered ball into the back of Keylor Navas’ net with just under two minutes of regulation time remaining.
Real Madrid
The Record Breaking Night
It was a record breaking night for both clubs as Real Madrid’s number 9, Karim Benzema, netted two goals to give him now 50 in his career in the Champions League, tying him with fellow Frenchmen Thierry Henry and putting him fifth in the all time Champions League goal scoring list.
Benzema was close to scoring a third goal but the header from a corner was blocked on the line by a Dortmund defender.
The second goal from Dortmund marked their 21st in 6 matches in the Champions League and that 21 goals breaks the record for most by any club in Champions League group play history. Manchester United in 1998-99, Barcelona in 2011-12 and this season, and Real themselves in 2013-14 scored the previous record of 20 but Dortmund have etched their names in the record books surpassing these three clubs.
Real Madrid’s Missed Chances
Real Madrid had a pair of great chances to score a third goal in the second half while leading 2-1 with both Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo having golden opportunities to score a treble.
Benzema had a header saved off the line and Ronaldo, had a little sliver of time to settle a bouncing cross down in the box enough to put it on his right foot and beat Dortmund keeper Roman Weidenfeller but the ball squarely struck the far post and bounced back into the field of play.
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Marcelo had several chances to get a goal for himself as on three separate occasions, the Brazilian fullback tried to volley a clearance or rebound chance on the edge of the box, never coming close to goal on any of the attempts.
Sergio Ramos had another opportunity to score another header goal as off a corner, Ramos rose above the Dortmund defense and made good contact with his head but Weidenfeller made a lunging one handed save to parry away the chance.
Man of the Match
The man of the match in this game goes to Karim Benzema who finished with an 8.3 rating according to Whoscored.com. Benzema scored two goals on five total shots and was a headache for the Dortmund defense after the half hour mark. Benzema completed 69% of his passes and had some nice link ups on the wings and through the middle of the park.
Benzema had a great nutmeg on former FC Barcelona defender Marc Bartra in the 74th minute settling a long pass and then beating Barata.