Cristiano Ronaldo, Real Madrid Earn 3-0 Victory Over Borussia Dortmund In First Leg Of UEFA Champions League Quarterfinals

While 2012-2013 UEFA Champions League runner-up Borussia Dortmund felt strongly about their ability to put together another strong run in this season’s UCL, a quarterfinal match-up with Cristiano Ronaldo and Real Madrid would certainly be a tremendous test. Opening the final 8 series with a first leg meeting at the Santiago Bernabeu in Spain, head coach Jurgen Klopp and company hoped to upend a Madrid team that currently sits third in the competitive Spanish Primera Division. After surrendering a goal just 180 seconds into Wednesday’s match however, Dortmund’s quest for a return to the title round took a serious step back.

The Bundesliga affiliate let a Gareth Bale left footer from the center of the box slip past keeper Roman Weidenfeller in the third minute and were never able to recover due to the constant pressure the Los Blancos offense puts on each opponent. Additional goals from Isco (27^th minute) and Ronaldo (57^th minute) proved too much to overcome as the German’s dropped the opening leg in Spain 3-0. Real Madrid certainly possesses loads of firepower but due to the fact that strong talents in Marco Reus, Henrik Mkhitaryan and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang have played well this season in the Bundesliga, many believed Dortmund would be able to give Real Madrid a tough test at the Bernabeu.

Jurgen Klopp himself was confident in his team’s ability, even though he believed the task of upending Real Madrid on the road would come as a tall order. Prior to the opening contest, Klopp indicated that a strong showing from his side would be needed in order to give themselves a good opportunity of advancing to the semifinals in front of the home crowd. “Playing the second leg at home may be a slight advantage but I fear Madrid trying to settle the tie here," he said Tuesday. "I have seen many of their games and they never finish a match without one scoring opportunity. They have incredible quality and we can't ignore that. If we play our game and keep our heads up, we will have chances.”

Round one against Real Madrid may not have gone according to plan for Klopp and company but despite the 3-0 hole, expect the German side to be ready to go when the quarterfinal series resumes on April 8 from Signal Iduna Park in Germany.