Real Madrid vs. Dortmund: Why Champions League final rematch is crucial for Los Blancos?
Over four months on from their Wembley duel, Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund will lock horns at the Santiago Bernabéu. A lot has changed since Dani Carvajal and Vinícius Júnior fired Los Blancos to Champions League glory in the English capital. Kylian Mbappé is now a Real Madrid player, Toni Kroos has retired, Dortmund have changed manager, and their striker from the final now plays for a struggling West Ham side under a former Real Madrid manager.
While the stakes may not be as high as May’s final, Tuesday’s rematch still carries great importance for a Real Madrid side struggling to hit top form in 2024/25. Ahead of the contest, we have identified three reasons why Los Blancos need a strong performance against Nuri Şahin’s side.
In need of Lille response
Under the new Swiss model, it is difficult to know how many points will be enough to secure an automatic last-16 spot. But despite that uncertainty, Real Madrid will want to avoid any more slip-ups after they experienced a forgettable outing against Lille on matchday two. Los Blancos only came to life in the closing stages of that away trip, with their late efforts proving to be in vain as they fell to a narrow 1-0 defeat and their first Champions League loss since May 2023.
There is certainly no need to panic at this stage of the competition, but the European champions will be desperate to avoid another poor result, especially as they have AC Milan, Liverpool and Atalanta to come in the next three matchdays. A loss on Tuesday would be quite a shock considering Los Blancos have not lost a home Champions League game since losing to Chelsea in April 2022.
Clásico preparation
Not only is the game important in the context of Real Madrid’s European campaign, but they will also be keen to build momentum ahead of Saturday’s Clásico. That’s why the manner of the performance against Dortmund will be as important as the result if Carlo Ancelotti’s side are to give themselves a confidence boost ahead of the clash with Hansi Flick’s free-scoring Barcelona.
Ideally, Ancelotti would have hoped for an easier opponent which could have enabled him to bring key players off if his team were in a strong position. However, he will ultimately have to field a strong lineup, knowing that his players will likely be tested for the full duration of the clash with Dortmund. The positive news for Real Madrid is that they will have one more day to recover, with Barcelona set to face Bayern Munich on Wednesday.
Defensive concerns
With Real Madrid just days away from facing LaLiga’s highest scorers, Ancelotti will want to see his side produce a resolute defensive display, especially after Saturday’s concerning performance without the ball. Put simply, Real Madrid will concede multiple goals against Dortmund if they defend as they did in the 2-1 win over Celta Vigo at Balaídos. The scoreline could have easily been different if Celta had shown greater composure in front of goal. The Real Madrid backline was opened up on several occasions during the contest, including for Williot Swedberg’s 51st-minute equaliser. The 20-year-old took full advantage of the enormous gap left between Éder Militão and Lucas Vázquez to guide the ball home from Óscar Mingueza’s cross.
Vázquez has been operating as Carvajal’s deputy for a number of years now, but he looked like a winger who had been converted to a full-back during Saturday’s contest. It was a shaky defensive display for the 33-year-old, who is set for an extended run in the team in Carvajal’s absence. Vázquez is likely to be tested by Donyell Malen or Jamie Gittens on Tuesday evening, and he will be searching for an improved performance to demonstrate that he is more than capable of marshalling the right side of Real Madrid’s backline.