Lewandowski a Pole apart as Real Madrid are dismantled by Dortmund

Borussia Dortmund 4 Real Madrid 1: First Bayern Munich, now Borussia Dortmund: for a second successive night a Spanish side conceded four goals in Germany and that sense of a power shift was enhanced. Real Madrid at least take an away goal with them, giving the kind of hope in the second leg that Barcelona have been denied, but an astonishing four-goal display from Robert Lewandowski all but destroyed them.

And, like Barca the night before, there could be few complaints: this victory was richly deserved. In fact Madrid might even be considered fortunate to have a goal at all, coming from virtually their only clear chance, gifted to them by Mats Hummels just before half-time.

The victory was clinched with similar pace and precision, energy and efficiency as the previous night’s clash. That swarm of red turned yellow and black. Not even the terrible timing of Mario Gotze’s signing for Bayern could derail Dortmund, although there may be a tinge of sadness when it is considered that this team’s brilliance on this stage may hasten its dismantling, with Lewandowski too likely to leave.

“If they want to damage us, I can assure them that they won’t succeed,” Jurgen Klopp had said. Dortmund damaged Madrid.

This game, though, will be remembered for Lewandowski. Even the simplest of his goals, a penalty, was taken with the kind of authority that astonished. Gotze provided the perfect delivery for the opening goal, too, a swirling ball right-footed from the left that found Lewandowski dashing in towards the far post. He wrestled his way free off Pepe and launched himself at the ball to volley into the net. The game was only eight minutes in but it was not Dortmund’s first chance.

Two minutes earlier Sami Khedira had been robbed and Marco Reus was set racing through, as he would be often. He brought a sharp save from Diego Lopez and the rebound dropped just too far wide for Lewandowski.

Collective speed

There was a collective speed about Dortmund that was breathtaking. Madrid playing with Luka Modric theoretically supporting Xabi Alonso and Khedira, could not get out from the back and, when they did, it felt like they were walking into a trap. A quick robbery and Dortmund were off again. Their transitions were swift and deadly, Madrid’s space closed down in numbers. With the lead, they mixed the speed of the game.

In the forward bursts, at speed, some of the touches were superb. Madrid were momentarily lost, their only strategy to seek free-kicks as a respite. When they were ceded possession, or when they were able briefly to wrestle it back, they were mostly inoffensive. Mesut Ozil, shifted to the right, was unable to get involved. At the other end, Dortmund continued to threaten.

Then it happened. Reus again was on the run. Into the area he went. Under challenge from a stumbling Raphael Varane, he went down. He appeared to have been bundled over, his ankle possibly clipped.

Suddenly, immediately, in the midst of the indignation, Madrid were level. Hummels played a dreadful pass back to his goalkeeper, Gonzalo Higuain reached it and slid the ball across for Ronaldo to finish simply. From 2-0 to 1-1 in the blink of an eye.

The good news for Dortmund was that the goal came just before half-time; that fury of “injustice” that appeared to have contributed to the goal could now subside. There was time to digest it. And less than five minutes into the second half, they were back in the lead.

This time Sergio Ramos was the furious man, sprinting to the linesman to insist that the Pole had been offside when he turned neatly and nudged past Lopez from seven yards. The defender was wrong but for a moment fans held their breath. When Lewandowski scored his next goal, his hat-trick, their breath was taken away.

Again, the striker turned sharply on his right foot, spinning away from Pepe to make a tiny bit of space. This time, from further out, he thumped a left-foot rocket into the top of the net. It was an astonishing strike, taking him to nine in the tournament and making him the first player to score a Champions League hat-trick against Madrid, although Charlie George managed it against them in the European Cup for Derby County.

It was about to get even better for the Pole, too. Gundogan’s rising shot was superbly saved by Lopez and then, on 67 minutes, the referee gave a penalty. Again, it was Reus running. Alonso brought him down. Lewandowski took the penalty, running in like a bowler round the wicket and thrashed it into the net.

They kept pouring forward too: the chances were theirs. Until, in the last minute, Roman Weidenfeller had to make a smart save at the feet of Ronaldo. It would have been more than Madrid deserved. This was Lewandowski’s night.

Mourinho to back to Chelsea?

It was claimed last night Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho was on his way back to Chelsea at the end of the season and that his arrival at Stamford Bridge would be complemented by the signing of Atletico Madrid’s Colombian striker Radamel Falcao.

Bild reported the Portuguese manager is "almost certain" to replace outgoing interim boss Rafael Benitez at Stamford Bridge and Falcao, who has scored 49 league goals in 63 games over the last two years, would be purchased from Atletico for €60 million.

Mourinho won six trophies, including two league titles, with Chelsea between 2004 and 2007.