Not enough in the end
2 May 2013 1:29 AM GMT
Borussia Dortmund qualified for their second ever Champions League final, beating Real Madrid 4-3 on aggregate despite losing the second leg of their semi-final 2-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Needing a huge turnaround from the first leg last week, Real seemed to have run out of steam after Gonzalo Higuain, Cristiano Ronaldo and Mesut Ozil passed up early opportunities on Tuesday.
However, after Robert Lewandowski had smashed the underside of the bar and Diego Lopez prevented Ilkay Gundogan with an incredible save from close range, Madrid were given a lifeline in the 83rd minute when substitute Karim Benzema swept home Ozil’s low cross.
And six minutes later they had real hope of an incredible comeback as captain Sergio Ramos rifled a shot into the roof of the net.
But Dortmund withstood the onslaught in an agonising five minutes of stoppage time to seal their place at the final at Wembley next month.
Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp said Real may have been the better side on the night but it meant nothing as his side had achieved their goal of reaching the final. ‘It isn’t too hard to reveal what I thought during those last 10 minutes: if God wished it then we would qualify for the final,’ said Klopp.
Ramos, said it was a pity Real hadn’t played the same way in the first leg. ‘It is a shame,’ Ramos said. ‘You can lose but it is better to do it like this.’   Â
Needing a huge turnaround from the first leg last week, Real seemed to have run out of steam after Gonzalo Higuain, Cristiano Ronaldo and Mesut Ozil passed up early opportunities on Tuesday.
However, after Robert Lewandowski had smashed the underside of the bar and Diego Lopez prevented Ilkay Gundogan with an incredible save from close range, Madrid were given a lifeline in the 83rd minute when substitute Karim Benzema swept home Ozil’s low cross.
And six minutes later they had real hope of an incredible comeback as captain Sergio Ramos rifled a shot into the roof of the net.
But Dortmund withstood the onslaught in an agonising five minutes of stoppage time to seal their place at the final at Wembley next month.
Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp said Real may have been the better side on the night but it meant nothing as his side had achieved their goal of reaching the final. ‘It isn’t too hard to reveal what I thought during those last 10 minutes: if God wished it then we would qualify for the final,’ said Klopp.
Ramos, said it was a pity Real hadn’t played the same way in the first leg. ‘It is a shame,’ Ramos said. ‘You can lose but it is better to do it like this.’   Â
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