The Signal Iduna Park witnessed a night like never before as Dortmund twice came from behind to book their place in the last four of the UEFA Champions League
The Signal Iduna Park witnessed a night like never before as Dortmund twice came from behind to book their place in the last four of the UEFA Champions League

Drama galore as Dortmund down Malaga

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Dortmund - Borussia Dortmund booked their place in the last four of the UEFA Champions League following a sensational, down-to-the-wire 3-2 win over Malaga CF.

Shock lead

After Robert Lewandowski struck to cancel out Joaquin's opener, Eliseu's 82nd-minute effort looked to have spelled the end for the Yellow-Blacks. However, goals from Marco Reus and Felipe Santana in the space of two mad-hatter, injury-time minutes ensured the European fairytale continued for this talented Dortmund bunch.

Against the backdrop of a truly spine-tingling atmosphere, Dortmund were the first side to register a shot on goal. Mario Götze created the opening, with Lewandowski selling covering left-back Vitorino Antunes a cool dummy before planting an inventive 18-yard chip onto the roof of the net. With BVB fans' pulses racing, the home side really began to express themselves, but were finding ex-Bayern Munich man Martin Demichelis in determined mood at the heart of the Malaga back four.

Sheer strength of mind saw the Spaniards come away from the first leg unscathed and it was this level of willpower that looked like it might just be Dortmund's undoing on German soil as Joaquin bamboozled three defenders and fired past a despairing Roman Weidenfeller to give the visitors an unlikely lead with their first meaningful foray into Yellow-Black territory in the 25th minute.

Lewandowski levels


Momentarily unsettled, Jürgen Klopp's men stuck to their counter-attacking task, getting themselves deservedly back on level terms shortly before half time. Lukasz Piszczek picked up a loose ball in midfield, allowing Dortmund's golden triangle of Götze, Reus and Lewandowski to work their magic, with the latter keeping his head to round Willy and slot into the empty net. Malaga's response was immediate, but Joaquin was unable to direct his header past Weidenfeller.

True to the pattern of the game, there was no let-up after the restart. Ilkay Gündogan's bulldozing run and Götze's clever turn paved the way for another opening for Lewandowski, whose low drive drew a routine save from Malaga stopper Willy. The visitors' riposte was swift, with Weidenfeller covering himself in glory with a superb reaction save to keep out Joaquin's goalbound header.

Dramatic turnaround


A seemingly more direct approach began to cause problems for the La Liga representatives as Sergio Sanchez inadvertantly flicked Santana's long ball into the path of Götze, who lashed wide of the near post with the goal at his mercy, before Lewandowski saw a goal rightly chalked off for offside.

Malaga substitute Eliseu then delivered what appeared to be the knockout blow, but the Yellow-Blacks refused to give up the ghost, reaping the rewards of throwing the kitchen sink at their opponents, with Reus and Santana scrambling home in added time to complete one of the most memorable turnarounds in Champions League history.

Line-ups:

Dortmund: Weidenfeller - Piszczek, Subotic, Santana, Schmelzer - Gundogan (Hummels 85'), Bender (Sahin 72') - Blaszczykowski (Schieber 72'), Götze, Reus - Lewandowski

Malaga: Willy - Gamez, Demichelis, Sanchez, Antunes- Toulalan, Camacho - Joaquin (Portillo 86'), Isco - Duda (Eliseu 75'), Baptista (Santa Cruz 83')

Goals: 0-1 Joaquin (25'), 1-1 Lewandowski (39'), 1-2 Eliseu (82'), 2-2 Reus (90+1), 3-2 Santana (90+3)

Christopher Mayer-Lodge