CHAMPIONS LEAGUE/Real Madrid ... 2 Borussia Dortmund ... 1: Real Madrid put their bid to retain their Champions League title back on track with a 2-1 Group C victory over Borussia Dortmund at a rain-lashed Bernabeu Stadium last night.
The opening goal from Jan Koller was equalised by Raul two minutes before half-time, and Brazilian superstar Ronaldo gave Real the crucial lead 10 minutes into the second half.
With a single point from their first two games in the second group phase, Real had to attack from the start and the Spanish side had the majority of possession.
Dortmund, the reigning German champions, took the lead against the run of play on the half-hour mark.
Koller collected a pass from fellow Czech Tomas Rosicky and the lanky striker drilled a low shot past Real goalkeeper Iker Casillas.
Real's first serious reply came when Luis Figo hit the crossbar with a 36th minute drive. A minute later, Ronaldo forced Lehmann into a diving save.
Real pulled level in the 43rd minute courtesy of Raul. Despite sprawling on the turf, the Spanish international managed to slip the ball between Christoph Metzelder's legs and past Lehmann.
Real's crucial second goal came on 55 minutes. Zinedine Zidane curled a weighted cross to the back post where Ronaldo side-footed the ball past Lehmann, who let the ball squirm under his body.
REAL MADRID: Casillas; Salgado, Pavon, Helguera, Carlos; Figo, Conceicao, Makelele, Zidane ( Solari 81); Raul, Ronaldo (14-Guti 74).
BORUSSIA DORTMUND: Lehmann; Evanilson (Ricken 83), Metzelder, Woerns, Dede; Ewerthon, Reuter (Kehl 76), Frings, Rosicky; Koller, Amoroso ( Reina 67).
Referee: Lubos Michel (Slovakia).
... Meanwhile, Danish striker Jon Dahl Tomasson's 62nd-minute goal gave AC Milan a 1-0 win over Lokomotiv Moscow to keep the Italian side top of Group C with a maximum nine points from three games.
The win takes Milan a step closer to a place in the quarter-finals but the uninspired performance of Carlo Ancelotti's side left a San Siro crowd frustrated.
In Group D, midfielder Hakan Yakan thumped home a first-half winner for Swiss champions Basel who edged out Deportivo La Coruna 1-0 to earn their first win in the second phase.
The younger of the two Yakan brothers accepted a pass from Julio Hernan Rossi and then fired a dipping 25-metres cross shot beyond Juanmi. The win leaves Basel one point behind Juventus.
