Real Madrid fought back from two goals down as Vinicius Jr grabbed a hat-trick in a thrilling 5-2 win over visitors Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League on Tuesday.
In a rematch of last-season’s final, Dortmund lit up the game with a two-goal blitz around the half-hour mark from Donyell Malen and Jamie Gittens to silence the Bernabeu crowd.
However, the champions were livelier after the break and broke Dortmund’s resistance with Antonio Ruediger’s header on the hour before Vinicius equalised with a close-range strike.
Lucas Vazquez put Real ahead in the 83rd with an unstoppable strike after a counter-attack and Vinicius, with two pieces of individual Brazilian brilliance, wrapped up the win to leave his side level with Dortmund on six points from three games.
“(The secret to the comeback) was believing in ourselves. We know that at home, with our fans, anything can happen,” Vinicius, who is in contention to win the Ballon d’Or award for the best player in the world on Monday, told Movistar Plus.
Tuesday’s Champions League Results
Milan (1) 3 Club Brugge (0) 1
Monaco (2) 5 Crvena zvezda (1) 1
Aston Villa (0) 2 Bologna (0) 0
Girona (1) 2 Slovan Bratislava (0) 0
Juventus (0) 0 Stuttgart (0) 1
PSG (0) 1 PSV (1) 1
Sturm Graz (0) 0 Sporting CP (1) 2
Arsenal (1) 1 Shakhtar Donetsk (0) 0
Real Madrid (0) 5 Borussia Dortmund (2) 2
“When we got to the dressing room, we were all very quiet, we only listened to the coach (Carlo Ancelotti) … and only one thing was said: ‘If we score the first goal, we’re going to come back again’. And we did.
“Thanks to the fans and to the team, who left everything on the pitch. But we have to improve and play like that from the start, otherwise the coach won’t be able to take it anymore.”
Still figuring out the ideal lineup and formation for a Real midfield missing the creative talent of Toni Kroos, who retired at the end of last season, Ancelotti reverted to his usual 4-3-3 after trying out a system with three centre-backs in an unconvincing 2-1 win over Celta Vigo in LaLiga at the weekend.
However, after a promising first half hour in which Real looked solid at the back and in control of the match, Dortmund took advantage of a lack of concentration by the home defence to score twice in the space of four minutes.
Real looked as stunned as the home fans, anxiously missing several chances, and were often exposed by counter-attacks, with goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois making brilliant saves to deny efforts from Gittens and Julian Brandt before the break.
The hosts came back better organised after the interval, showing the urgency they clearly lacked in the opening period, and got some help from two head-scratching substitutions from Dortmund manager Nuri Sahin early in the second half.
He replaced scorers Malen and Gittens with defender Waldemar Anton and holding midfielder Pascal Gross, leaving his side toothless up front, and from that point it was all downhill for the German side who succumbed to the pressure Real piled on.
Ruediger’s header and a Vinicius tap-in two minutes later had lifted the crowd and it was a matter of time until Vazquez gave Real the lead, with Vinicius capping the comeback with unstoppable strikes in the 86th and 93rd minutes.
It was the Brazilian’s third hat-trick for Real in all competitions and his first in the Champions League.
Villa down Bologna 2-0 to remain perfect in Champions League
Aston Villa overcame Bologna 2-0 thanks to second-half goals from John McGinn and Jhon Duran on Tuesday as the home side extended a perfect start to their first Champions League campaign in 41 years to three victories.
Villa’s win put them provisionally top of the table in Europe’s elite club competition with nine points and are yet to concede. Bologna have one point after a draw and two losses.
“What we are building here is amazing,” McGinn said. “Three games in, three wins and most important for us is no goals conceded. We don’t want to stop here. It puts us in a great position. Some players came back and now we look really strong.”
Unai Emery’s side had a flurry of chances before McGinn scored in the 55th minute, sending a free kick sailing over a sea of heads into the far corner. After a VAR check for a possible handball, the goal from Villa’s captain stood.
Duran, whose late-game heroics led them past Bayern Munich three weeks ago, doubled the lead in the 64th when Morgan Rogers lifted a cross towards the box and the lunging striker held off defender Jhon Lucumi to flick the ball into the bottom corner.
Ollie Watkins replaced Duran immediately after the goal, and the Colombian looked livid when he stomped to the bench.
“(Duran) scored the goal and it was fantastic and he was wanting more because he was thinking he could score more goals,” Emery said. “He did very good work and the last minutes is for Watkins and keep going.”
Bologna, with one win so far this season in all competitions – a Serie A victory at Monza last month – threatened only for brief moments in the first half.
They had an early chance through Thijs Dallinga, who latched onto a through ball from Dan Ndoye, but Villa keeper Emi Martinez dived to push his attempt away from danger.
Villa, who are fourth in the Premier League, mostly dominated the rest of the game, narrowly missing several first-half chances.
McGinn almost scored with a long-range effort but Bologna keeper Lukasz Skorupski kept it out, while Morgan Rogers’ shot from distance just before the break sailed wide.
Jacob Ramsey almost scored a third goal for Villa at the death, but was denied in a one-on-one.
“We are playing seriously, we are playing focused, responsible and the team is progressing and mature in everything,” Emery said.
Villa next visit Club Brugge in the new 36-team league phase, with the top eight automatically making the last 16.
