Real Madrid fought back from two goals down as Vinicius Jr grabbed a hat-trick in a thrilling 5-2 win over visitors Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday.
In a rematch of last season's final, Dortmund lit up the game with a two-goal blitz around the half-hour mark from Donyell Malen and Jamie Gittens to silence the Bernabeu crowd.
However, the champions were livelier after the break and broke Dortmund's resistance with Antonio Ruediger's header on the hour before Vinicius equalised with a close-range strike.
Lucas Vazquez put Real ahead in the 83rd with an unstoppable strike after a counter-attack and Vinicius, with two pieces of individual Brazilian brilliance, wrapped up the win to leave his side level with Dortmund on six points from three games.
Still figuring out the ideal lineup and formation for a Real midfield missing the creative talent of Toni Kroos, who retired at the end of last season, Ancelotti reverted to his usual 4-3-3 after trying out a system with three center-backs in an unconvincing 2-1 win over Celta Vigo in LaLiga at the weekend.
However, after a promising first half hour in which Real looked solid at the back and in control of the match, Dortmund took advantage of a lack of concentration by the home defense to score twice in the space of four minutes.
Real looked as stunned as the home fans, anxiously missing several chances, and were often exposed by counter-attacks, with goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois making brilliant saves to deny efforts from Gittens and Julian Brandt before the break.
Reference(s):
UCL: Real's Vinicius grabs hat-trick in 5-2 comeback win over Dortmund
cgtn.com
