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Schurrle’s late strike earns Dortmund 2-2 draw against Real Madrid

Defending champions, Real Madrid were held to a 2-2 draw by the yellow brigade Borussia Dortmund due to a late goal by Andre Schurrle in the first leg of the Champions League Group F encounter on Tuesday.

Real Madrid came into the game with a 22-game unbeaten streak in Champions League but also with two consecutive draws on the domestic front. On the other hand, Dortmund were coming winning four consecutive games including the 6-0 mauling of Legia Warsaw in their Group F opener.

The German international came as a substitute in the 58th minute for Mario Gotze and it was his goal in the 87th minute of the game that snatched the victory from Los Blancos.

The home team (Dortmund), with the massive yellow support system, began strong and dominated the game play since the beginning of the match.But contrary to the flow of play, Real Madrid launched a classic counter attack that Cristiano Ronaldo converted into a goal in the 17th minute. An intricate and quick work up front, along with Bale’s smart and brilliant back-heel pass, set up Cristiano who made no error. A gesture by Ronaldo towards Zidane post the goal also made the statement that their Saturday’s disagreement was forgotten.

Classic Dortmund attitude followed Ronaldo’s goal when they kept forcing Madrid back on the line with their efforts. Dembele, in particular, was a constant trouble to Madrid. Eventually, in the 42nd minute, Ramos made an error a little outside the box giving away a free kick to Dortmund. Raphael Guerreiro’s free-kick exposed Keylor Navas as he weakly punched the shot towards his teammate Varane and the ball trickled towards the goal helped in by Aubameyang.

Just before the end of the first half, Ronaldo headed in a Benzema cross but was given offside.Madrid was brought to life once again as Varane tipped the ball home in the 68th minute after two wasted chances from Bale and Benzema.Real Madrid clearly missed Casemiro as they continuously struggled to keep the ball in control at the back when Dortmund kept rallying in their half. 

Madrid haven’t won a single game after victory against Espanyol in which Casemiro got injured. Navas made himself big on several occasions along with keeping out two of Emre Mor’s shots.  Just when Madrid looked to be making out of the game with a win, Schurrle rocketed high into the net in the 87th minute to level the scoreline.

Real Madrid’s draw curse continued from the La Liga as Dortmund sit atop the group on goal difference. In the other Group F encounter, Sporting CP defeated Legia Warsaw 2-0 and sit third in the group with 3 points. In the other games, Spurs beat CSKA Moscow 1-0, Sevilla won over Lyon 1-0.
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