Real Madrid needed a later winner to advance to the UEFA Champions League last-16 as they beat Borussia Dortmund 3-2 at the Santiago Bernabeu on Wednesday.
Real went 2-0 up through Borja Mayoral and Cristiano Ronaldo before a brace from Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang made it 2-2.
In a tightly-fought second stanza, Lucas Vazquez was the hero as he grabbed the winner in the 81st minute for the hosts.
Match Report
Los Blancos came out of the blocks quickly and hit the front in the eighth minute when Ronaldo skipped down the wing and played in Isco and he fed Borja Mayoral, who then fired in an easy finish from close range beyond goalkeeper Roman Burki.
Soon after BVB went 2-0 behind as the home team took the advantage. Nacho was found from Mateo Kovacic’s cross, who then played in Ronaldo who finished with trademark precision beyond Burki. Just before the break Mayoral nearly made it 3-0, after good work from Isco.
Amazingly, BVB pulled one back before the break as Aubameyang struck home in the 43rd minute. From Marcel Schmelzer’s accurate cross, he headed home beyond Keylor Navas.
After the interval, the forward made it 2-2. From Shinji Kagawa’s clever flick-on the edge of the area, the striker saw his shot saved. Yet, from the follow-up he finished with precision beyond the Costa Rica international.
Both teams had half-chances in the second stanza and it was Ronaldo who came close to extending the home team’s lead. After a superb cross from Marco Asensio on the left, Neven Subotic defended well to block the Portuguese’s effort on goal. Ronaldo was then denied a goal by a dubious offside call in the 79th minute from Casemiro’s pass.
Soon after Vazquez got the winner in the 81st minute from Theo Hernandez’s superb assist, as Real hung on for the win. Kagawa came close in the latter stages as he fired over while Mahmoud Dahoud also missed the target towards the end.
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