André Schürrle rescued a point for hosts Borussia Dortmund in a pulsating 2-2 draw with Real Madrid at Signal Iduna Park.
Cristiano Ronaldo and Raphaël Varane gave Madrid the lead in the first and second halves respectively, but Dortmund drew level on both occasions through Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Schürrle.
The start of the game set the tone for the whole game, with both keepers called into action in the first few minutes from set pieces. Roman Bürki made a smart save from a Ronaldo free-kick after Matthias Ginter was adjudged to have handled the ball, before Gonzalo Castro’s effort was similarly dealt with by Keylor Navas after a Luka Modrić foul.
It was from another free-kick where referee Mark Clattenburg had to make his first big decision of the night to make, waving away Dortmund protests after Aubameyang’s strike seemed to make contact with Ronaldo’s outstretched arm.
A minute later Navas was forced into action again, but he was equal to Aubameyang’s low effort.
Much as he did on Friday night, Ousmane Dembélé was sharp, but, much like against Freiburg, his end product wasn’t quite there, this time sending a left-foot shot just over Navas’ bar after cutting inside.
Nevertheless, the visitors were still a clear threat, with Ronaldo playing in Karim Benzema, who slipped at the crucial moment, despite Dortmund’s protests that the ball should have been kicked out of play with Marcel Schmelzer down on the ground.
Two minutes later, Real Madrid managed to silence the Dortmund faithful with a swift counter-attack, which ended with Ronaldo sweeping the ball past Bürki after a delightful Gareth Bale back heel to make it 18 goals in 17 games against German opposition, and 95 overall in the competition.
The goal took the sting out of the hosts start, with the visitors slowly settling into the game. However, it was not the end of all the first half chances, with Dembélé’s effort deflected over the bar before Sokratis headed a corner from the young Frenchman straight at Navas, who again decided to punch the ball clear.
Ten minutes later, it would be this precise technique that would be the Costa Rican, and the Spanish giants’ downfall. Navas, in saving another Dortmund free-kick, punched the clearance straight into Raphaël Varane, who deflected it back towards goal, giving Aubameyang the simplest task of putting the ball over the line two minutes before the break.
Ronaldo nearly restored Real’s lead with the last action of the half, but was correctly adjudged to be offside by the linesman after heading in Benzema’s cross.
Both sides continued to threaten in the second half, with Dembélé firing over before Aubameyang was again denied by Navas, before Sokratis made two crucial interventions at the other end, to put Ronaldo off heading in a Ramos cross before intercepting a low Bale cross destined for Benzema.
However, two minutes after Bale headed over from Kroos’ corner, the holders were ahead again through Varane. Ronaldo’s cross was diverted onto the post, and then the bar, by Benzema, an effort which rebounded to the French defender, who made no mistake.
Dortmund’s response was almost immediate, but not for the first time, Navas was equal to Raphaël Guerreiro’s rocket from 25 yards out. Ronaldo had chances to seal the game for the visitors, but he was first denied by a good near-post save from Bürki following a left-foot strike, before ballooning another attempt over the bar after Bale had untidily set the Portuguese up.
Dortmund pressed for an equaliser with ten minutes to go, but Costa Rica’s Navas was again equal to the task, denying substitutes Christian Pulisic and Emre Mor in quick succession.
Dortmund’s third substitute, André Schürrle, however, managed to find a way past Navas three minutes before time. Pulisic’s cross got a slight deflection off Dani Carvajal, taking it into the path of Schürrle, who lashed the ball high into the net to secure a point for the hosts, who sit top of Group F.
