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Head-to-head record
Previous meetings: 16
Dortmund wins: 3
Draws: 5
Real Madrid wins: 8
First crossing paths in the semi-finals of the 1997-98 Champions League, Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid have now locked horns on 16 occasions - including the 2023-24 showpiece - and the head-to-head superiority unsurprisingly belongs to the Spanish giants.
Indeed, Real have posted eight wins compared to just a trio of successes for Dortmund, who were made to pay for several wasted openings in the 2023-24 Champions League final, where Dani Carvajal and Jude Bellingham ultimately propelled Los Blancos to their 15th top-level European crown.
A few months later, Dortmund were on course for revenge as they took a 2-0 lead in the league phase, only for Carlo Ancelotti's men to emphatically fight back and prevail 5-2, thanks in no small part to Vinicius Junior's hat-trick.
Los Blancos also earned a pair of successes versus the 2012-13 runners-up six-and-a-half years ago in the 2017-18 group stage, doing the double over Dortmund by an aggregate score of 6-3.
Another five encounters between Real and BVB have seen the spoils shared, including in both of their affairs during the 2016-17 group phase - which ended 2-2 each time - meaning that Los Blancos are now on a five-match unbeaten streak versus their German foes.
The Yellow Wall have to go back over 10 years for the last time that their side trounced the 15-time winners, as two strikes from Marco Reus - who played his last game for Dortmund in the 2023-24 final - sealed a 2-0 semi-final second-leg victory in 2013-14, but that ended up proving meaningless owing to Real's 3-0 first-leg success.
Los Blancos' progression to the final that year marked a revenge mission after losing to Dortmund 4-3 on aggregate in the 2012-13 semis, where Robert Lewandowski produced one of the finest individual Champions League performances in recent memory, scoring all four of his side's goals in a 4-1 first-leg romping before Real's inconsequential 2-0 second-leg win.
Lewandowski was also on target in a 2-1 group-stage victory that same season, which sealed Dortmund's first success against Real Madrid at the fifth attempt, having gone winless in their first five meetings with the Spanish titans.
Indeed, Real Madrid took four points from a possible six against the Bundesliga outfit in the 2002-03 group phase, five years on from a 2-0 aggregate semi-final victory, where first-leg goals from Fernando Morientes and Christian Karembeu proved decisive.
There are no prizes for guessing who leads the way in the individual goalscoring column - Cristiano Ronaldo has struck seven times against Dortmund - although Lewandowski (five), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (five) and Reus (four) have also haunted Real Madrid in previous years.
Previous meetings
Oct 22, 2024: Real Madrid 5-2 Borussia Dortmund (Champions League League Phase)
Jun 1, 2024: Borussia Dortmund 0-2 Real Madrid (Champions League Final)
Dec 06, 2017: Real Madrid 3-2 Dortmund (Champions League Group Stage)
Sep 26, 2017: Dortmund 1-3 Real Madrid (Champions League Group Stage)
Dec 07, 2016: Real Madrid 2-2 Dortmund (Champions League Group Stage)
Sep 27, 2016: Dortmund 2-2 Real Madrid (Champions League Group Stage)
Apr 08, 2014: Dortmund 2-0 Real Madrid (Champions League Quarter-Finals)
Apr 02, 2014: Real Madrid 3-0 Dortmund (Champions League Quarter-Finals)
Apr 30, 2013: Real Madrid 2-0 Dortmund (Champions League Semi-Finals)
Apr 24, 2013: Dortmund 4-1 Real Madrid (Champions League Semi-Finals)
Nov 06, 2012: Real Madrid 2-2 Dortmund (Champions League Group Stage)
Oct 24, 2012: Dortmund 2-1 Real Madrid (Champions League Group Stage)
Feb 25, 2003: Dortmund 1-1 Real Madrid (Champions League Group Stage)
Feb 19, 2003: Real Madrid 2-1 Dortmund (Champions League Group Stage)
Apr 15, 1998: Dortmund 0-0 Real Madrid (Champions League Semi-Finals)
Apr 1, 1998: Real Madrid 2-0 Dortmund (Champions League Semi-Finals)
Ben Knapton
