REMEMBER MARCEL SCHMELZER, Ireland fans?
The German defender hit a second-half winner as Borussia Dortmund beat Real Madrid 2-1 tonight in the Champions League to snatch top spot in Group D from the Spanish giants.
Having beaten Ajax 1-0 at home and only been denied a win at Manchester City three weeks ago by a late penalty in the 1-1 draw, the German champions produced another battling European display at home against Jose Mourinho’s Madrid.
An opening goal by Dortmund’s Robert Lewandowski was immediately cancelled out by Real’s Cristiano Ronaldo in the first-half before Schmelzer’s 64th-minute winner.
Defeat drops Real to second in the group on six points with Dortmund top on seven, but the teams meet again at the Santiago Bernabeu stadium in a fortnight.
Despite having been European champions nine times, Real continued their appalling record on German soil and in their 24 matches in Germany they have now suffered 17 losses and their single victory was 12 years ago.
Jurgen Klopp’s Dortmund produced a highly disciplined display as they bounced back from losing the Ruhr derby 2-1 at home to Schalke in the Bundesliga on Saturday to claim victory despite only around 40% possession.