© EuroFootball.com
On Tuesday evening, the first two UEFA Champions League semi-finalists were revealed.
The duel in Dortmund unfolded extremely dramatically, where the local "Borussia" defeated "Malaga" with a score of 3-2 in the last seconds of the match.
The first showdown between the teams in Spain ended goalless, so the "black-yellow" team knew that a draw with goals would mean their exit from the tournament.
After the first half, the scoreboard showed ones - Joaquin's accurate shot from outside the penalty area was successfully answered by Robert Lewandowski, receiving an impressive pass from Marco Reus just before the break.
The spectators at the "Westfalenstadion" were disappointed in the 82nd minute when "Malaga" executed a fast counterattack to take the lead and the hosts' hopes of making it among the four strongest teams in the Old Continent were hanging by a thread.
Replays showed that full-back Eliseu scored from an offside position, but that went unnoticed by the refereeing team.
With the referee adding four minutes of stoppage time, it seemed that Manuel Pellegrini's students would not be stopped, but the players of "Borussia" created a miracle - first, Reus equalized the score, and the hero of the historic victory became Wilfredo Caballero by thwarting Santana Felipe Augusto - 3-2!
Once again, controversy was not avoided - the decisive goal came while violating the offside rule.
With the final whistle blown, the players and coaching staff of the German club surrendered to a jubilant celebration, while it was hard for the men of "Malaga" to hold back tears after missing the golden opportunity to compete in the Champions League semi-finals.
In the other match, Madrid's "Real" suffered a defeat with the same margin against "Galatasaray" in Istanbul, but they had no reason to be sad, as the first clash between the teams on the "Santiago Bernabeu" field ended with a comfortable 3-0 victory for the "royal" club.
The "Merengues" started the match successfully and already in the 7th minute, after a shot by Cristiano Ronaldo from close range, they took the lead 1-0, but then they relaxed and gradually "fell asleep".
In the second half, the Turks took advantage and scored three goals without a response - Emmanuel Eboue, Wesley Sneijder, and Didier Drogba found the net.
However, the hosts failed to create more intrigue, and before the end of the match, Cristiano Ronaldo, the top scorer of the tournament, added another goal to his tally.
It is worth mentioning that in the 90th minute, "Real" defender Alvaro Arbeloa was sent off the field - the Spaniard received a yellow card, pointed his finger at the referee, received a second such penalty, and was forced to leave his teammates with ten men.
On Wednesday at 21:45 Lithuanian time, the remaining two semi-final matches will be played.
Results:
(highlighted team advances to the next stage)
Galatasaray 3 - 2 Real Madrid
(first match 0 - 3, aggregate score 3 - 5)
7' [0 - 1] C. Ronaldo
57' [1 - 1] E. Eboue
70' [2 - 1] W. Sneijder
72' [3 - 1] D. Drogba
90' [3 - 2] C. Ronaldo
A. Arbeloa ("Real") sent off the field in the 90th minute
Borussia Dortmund 3 - 2 Malaga
(first match 0 - 0, aggregate score 3 - 2)
25' [0 - 1] Joaquin
40' [1 - 1] R. Lewandowski
82' [1 - 2] Eliseu
90' [2 - 2] M. Reus
90' [3 - 2] S.F. Augusto
