Real Madrid locked horns with Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday night in the UEFA Champions League in what was a virtual must-win game at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Carlo Ancelotti deployed his strongest lineup in the UCL finale rematch as his men looked to undo the effect of their 1-0 defeat to Lille.
The hosts, however, came under serious pressure in the first half and were outplayed to perfection by Nuri Sahin’s side as they took a quick 2-0 lead into the half-time break.
Real Madrid looked done and set to head for another defeat in the competition but the team turned up inspired after the break with renewed purpose and intent.
Putting pressure on Dortmund after the restart, they found two goals in three minutes through Antonio Rudiger and Vinicius Jr. to find a comeback and level the scores as they have done innumerable times before in the competition.
A late onslaught saw Lucas Vazquez make it 3-2 before Vinicius added two more to secure a thumping 5-2 win for the trophy holders.
Madrid Universal brings you the player ratings from Real Madrid 5-2 Borussia Dortmund.
Thibaut Courtois: 9
Not much the Belgian shot-stopper could do about the two goals conceded as he was let down by the defence and made three saves in the first period even apart from Dortmund’s goals. Completed the game with five saves.
Ferland Mendy: 6.5
Far from the French full-back’s best night defensively as Donyell Malen feasted on Real Madrid’s left-wing time and time again and even recorded a goal and an assist playing on Mendy’s watch. The defender was effective with his distribution but a mess in defence.
Antonio Rudiger: 7.5
Even the mighty Antonio Rudiger struggled to keep up with Dortmund’s transitions on the night and that summed up Real Madrid’s performance in the first half. With the Germans repeatedly pushing their way into the box, he simply did not have enough in the tank to keep them at bay.
Scored a well-worked header in the second half to bring one back for the men in white for the team.
Eder Militao: 6.5
Militao was simply off his game in the first half and completely switched off for the visitors’ second goal of the night when Malen crossed the ball across the face of goal and under his nose to find Jamie Gittens. Much improved after the break.
Lucas Vazquez: 8
A decent performance from the right-back who did make an error that directly led to a goal but also added a lot in attack in the second half. Whipped in handy crosses to help build the pressure on Dortmund and could well have had an assist.
Scored a stunning goal from a tight angle to complete the dream comeback and help his side to three points.
Federico Valverde: 7.5
With Ancelotti benching Aurelien Tchouameni, the Uruguayan served a dual role as both the team’s pivot and a presence in attack. While he was decent filling the hybrid role, the experiment was not entirely a success as the opponents quite comfortably pulled off counterattacks regardless.
Luka Modric: 7
The Croatian international brought some solace to the team’s play in attack and helped Los Blancos push forward on the break and create some chances. Added reasonable stability in midfield but was clearly in a confused role given the blatant absence of a natural pivot.
Jude Bellingham: 6.5
Bellingham suffered a poor opening half with little impact and an underwhelming presence in the final third. First fired a poor header after getting onto the end of a wonderful cross and then hit the crossbar off the rebound of Rodrygo’s attempt.
His missed chances quite summed up his season so far, but did get the assist for Vinicius’ second.
Rodrygo Goes: 8
The Brazilian phenom conjured a sensational chance with a brilliant volley in the first half and was unlucky to not get on the scoresheet. Was a lively presence in the Dortmund box but did not receive too much service from the midfield.
Upped the ante after the break and was instrumental in ensuring that his team maintained the momentum throughout the second half.
Vinicius Jr: 10
The talisman was yet another victim of Dortmund’s resilient defending as he completed just one of his six attempted dribbles and struggled to get effective shots on target in the first period.
Returned to life in the second half and scored the equaliser for Los Blancos by depositing the ball into the back of a relatively empty net. Bagged a second goal late in the night to put the result beyond doubt before completing his hat-trick in stoppage time.
Kylian Mbappe: 8
The Frenchman was far from his best early in his first big UCL game for Real Madrid, recording no shot on target and completing just one dribble. Did not create much threat in the box and was effectively controlled by Nico Schlotterbeck in the opening period.
Came up with a wonderful assist for Rudiger’s goal at the hour mark and sparked hope of a comeback. Played an integral role in the second goal for his team as well. Big impact after the break.