Clinical Ronaldo and Bale down Dortmund

Borussia Dortmund 1 - 3 Real Madrid
(Aubameyang 54' - Bale 18', Ronaldo 49', 79')

Cristiano Ronaldo demonstrated the clinical nature that eluded Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang as Real Madrid eased away from a determined Dortmund side to make it two wins from two.

The Portuguese forward’s brace came either side of a goal from the Gabon forward on a night where Dortmund were not outclassed but failed to take advantage of a host of decent opportunities.

Both sides started the game in sparky fashion but it was Madrid who gained the ascendancy, thanks to a deceptively simple but brilliant Gareth Bale effort. The Welshman drifted in to the box and timed his run perfectly to meet Dani Carvajal’s floated through ball before casually stroking a left footed volley in to the top corner.

Many teams would’ve crumbled against the European champions at that stage, as Madrid continued to mount an onslaught, but Dortmund held their own, carving out a pair of presentable chances for Aubameyang only for his touch let him down. The Gabonese front man then clipped the post but was ruled offside in the tightest of calls.

Madrid made them pay almost immediately after the break, with Bale involved again, breaking down the left before finding Ronaldo, who swept home with his left foot.  Aubameyang matched him minutes later, poking home with his studs from Gonzalo Castro’s measured cross to make things interesting and turn up the volume at Signal Iduna Park.

But as the clock ticked down, a familiar problem returned to haunt Dortmund as Ronaldo latched on to Luka Modric’s through ball to hammer in at Roman Bürki’s near post – the same area in which the Swiss keeper was beaten twice against Tottenham Hotspur in the first matchweek. And, despite an improvement in overall performance - the outcome in Dortmund was the same as that in London, and Dortmund have plenty to do to reach the knockout rounds.

 

As it happened

FULL TIME: That's it. Dortmund gave a good account of themsleves but came up short. There's no disgrace in that, this is a very good Real Madrid side. A match report will be with you very shortly.

90+1 -- Ramos forces another save from Bürki as Real finish strongly. The air has gone out of Dortmund.

88' -- Asensio bursts right through the middle of the Dortmund defense but just over-runs it with his last touch and Bürki smothers.

85' -- Bale hobbles off to be replaced by Vazquez.

83' -- Aubameyang nods straight at the keeper from a free kick. Presentable chance that.

79' -- GOAL! That's why they're champions. Modric pushes one down the outside of the center back and Ronaldo rockets one in the near post. It looks so simple. Bürki may have done better there.

74' -- Madrid starting to dominate the ball again and Isco forces a good save from Bürki after cutting in from the left flank. He's immediately removed for Asensio while Pulisic is on for Götze. That's Dortmund's last sub.

70' -- Isco hammers one just wide from the right hand side of the box.

67' -- Close! Aubameyang barely gets a touch to Götze's cross but it almost creeps in at the near post. It feels like there's another goal in this.

65' -- And now a pair of brilliant tackles, first Carvajal denying Götze at the last then Sokratis doing the same to Bale. Real high-octane stuff here from both teams.

63' -- Weigl booked for a poor, late tackle on Ronaldo.

62' -- Two decent chances. Yarmelenko plays in Castro, whose touch lets him down, then Modric can't get enough on a Bale cross.

60' -- Double sub for Dortmund. Weigl and Dahoud for Sahin and Toljan. That could mean a change of shape. 

56' -- Now Götze sets Yarmolenko off down the left, but he can't quite find the man. Signal Iduna Park is absolutely rocking right now. 

54' -- It's not over yet! Aubameyang pokes home with his studs from Castro's measured cross. Plenty of time left.

49' -- GOAL! For the second time in a minute, Bale gets free down the left, this time played through by a needle-threader from Toni Kroos. Unlike last time, he drives the ball low and Ronaldo is there to sweep home.

46'-- And they almost equalize straight away! Yarmolenko stoops to head a raking ball back across goal, but Varane nicks it away from Aubameyang. The corner comes to nothing. But an encouraging start for Dortmund.

46' -- And we're back underway in Dortmund. It feels like the hosts need a point here, it's a long way back from 0 points after 2 games.

HALF TIME' -- The players head down the tunnel after an entertaining first half. Real Madrid started brilliantly, with Gareth Bale's strike just reward for a period of domination. But Dortmund are still well in the game, they've shown flashes going forward and on a better night, Aubameyang may be on the scoresheet. Over in Istanbul, things are not looking quite so rosy for Leipzig - they're two nil down to Besiktas. They've also lost Timo Werner. 

44' -- Ronaldo almost back in the game. He gets the ball 40 yards out and drives at the defense in that familiar fashion before his shot is blocked then pulls a good chance wide from the edge of the box. More bad news for Leipzig, who are 2-0 down to Besiktas now. Talisca with the goal.

40' -- A couple of bookings for Madrid, first Carvajal for an off-the-ball trip then Modric sees yellow for measuring out the wall's distance for the resulting free kick, for the referee's perceived benefit.

38' -- Aubameyang again. He finds space in the box, spins and pokes one against the post. But the linesman's flag was (perhaps wrongly) up. 

36' -- Sahin flashes one miles over from mile out. Dortmund still in this game despite that Madrid onslaught early on.

33' -- Aubameyang almost in again. This time Philipp is the provider but Auba's touch is poor.

30' -- Götze finds Aubameyang, who has been quiet so far. The striker tries to twist and turn his way to a shot but is denied by Ramos. 

27' -- The Welshman is booked now for a raised arm that connected with Sokratis in an aerial duel.

24' -- Bale through again on the left but the angle is against him and Bürki makes a smart stop.

20' -- Really impressive stuff from Real Madrid, who are working Dortmund over here. Some slick passing sets Isco free as Joachim Löw watches on from the stands.

18' -- GOAL! The ball is floated over a square Dortmund backline and Bale casually sidefoots a left-footed volley in to the top corner. Easy.

14' -- Drama at the other end now as Dortmund break away. Götze broke down the right and chipped to the back stick, taking Navas out of play but Dortmund couldn't turn it in. They appealed for a handball but nothing doing. In the other match involving a German side Leipzig are 1-0 down to Besiktas. Babel the scorer.

11' -- Ronaldo is put through from deep by Isco. The Portuguese forward could, and maybe should, shoot but opts to pass for a change. He goes low to Bale but Piszczek reads it well. The visitors look ominous.

10' -- The first big chance of the night goes to Real Madrid. But not to the man they wanted it to. Carvajal burst down the right flank, shunning crossing opportunities before cutting inside on his left foot and hitting straight at Bürki.

9' -- Isco drifts in to some space in the left and sweeps across field to Ronaldo, but he's crowded out on the edge of the box.

6' -- Dortmund are marginally in control of posession but Real look as dangerous as ever on the break. Modric finds Carvajal in space but his cross is undercooked.

3' -- Ronaldo chases down a long ball but Bürki is quickly out of his area to sweep up. At the other end, Toljan gets some space on the left but his low cross is blocked.

1' -- Ramos and Sokratis have exchanged banners, the Südtribune is in full voice and we're off! 

20:38

Real Madrid may be the first back-to-back winners since the Champions League was introduced but our quick Twitter poll backs Dortmund. We'll find out how accurate that was any minute.

20:30

In the other game involving a German side, Leipzig travel to Turkey to take on Besiktas. After a slightly tentative debut performance in their matchday 1 draw with Monaco, coach Ralph Hasenhüttl said earlier tonight that: “If we play bravely going forward then we can definitely cause Beşiktaş problems.” Timo Werner could be key to Leipzig's plans once again, he's scored 5 in 6 in the Bundesliga so far.

20:20

Dortmund and Real Madrid are two of Europe's best attacking outfits, and we should see plenty of goals tonight. Dortmund have failed to score in only two of their last 26 home UEFA Champions League matches, while Real Madrid's 1-0 loss to Real Betis last Wednesday was the first time they haven't scored for 73 games, or 17 months. So 0-0 then?

20:00

The Champions League group stages have often been accused of lacking intrigue, with seeding systems keeping the big boys apart. Well not tonight. Real Madrid are the visitors for a Dortmund side who have looked imperious in the Bundesliga but shaky in their only European match so far - a 3-1 loss to Spurs in London.

The home side can take some confidence from Real's poor record in Germany - they've lost 19 of their 31 matches, and the reigning champions have never beaten Dortmund away from the Bernabeu. 

Elsewhere, RB Leipzig have their first away Champions League fixture as they face Besiktas in Istanbul. It all kicks off in an hour's time.

And we have some teams: