Borussia Dortmund Archives

Leverkusen knock Borussia Dortmund out of German Cup

Bayer Leverkusen knocked Borussia Dortmund out in the last 16 of the German Cup, Ibrahim Maza scoring the only goal in a 1-0 away win on Tuesday.

Maza’s 34th-minute strike put the 2024 cup winners on track for victory and exact instant revenge on Dortmund, who beat them 2-1 in their own backyard in the Bundesliga three days ago.

The goal was: “a bit of instinct and a bit of luck too, but that’s part of it — that’s normal in football,” Maza told Sky Germany.

Leverkusen will be joined in the quarter-finals by RB Leipzig, who beat Magdeburg 3-1 at home, along with Hertha Berlin and St Pauli, who won earlier on Tuesday.

Forlorn Dortmund defender Waldemar Anton told Sky Germany his side would “need a day or two to process” the “incredibly brutal” defeat, adding “we set ourselves high goals and we wanted to win this competition.”

Bundesliga heavyweights Dortmund and Leverkusen had met 109 times in all competitions dating back to the early 1950s, but had never faced off in the German Cup.

Dortmund had an early penalty shout waved away when former Liverpool defender Jarell Quansah held Carney Chukwuemeka inside the box.

A goalscorer in Leverkusen’s shock 2-0 Champions League win at Manchester City, the 20-year-old Maza danced through some sleepy Dortmund defence to blast his side in front.

Leverkusen netted again on the hour mark through Martin Terrier in a move started by Maza, but the strike was chalked off for a narrow offside.

Dortmund’s Karim Adeyemi had a chance to level deep into stoppage time, but he headed inches wide of the post.

Elsewhere, Christoph Baumgartner scored twice as RB Leipzig came from a goal down to beat lowly Magdeburg.

Magdeburg, sitting dead last in the second division, took an early lead through a Silas Gnaka penalty.

Leipzig hit back with a long-range rocket from Antonio Nusa and led 2-1 at halftime after Baumgartner scored.

Assisted by Nusa, Baumgartner scored again early in the second half to see the two-time cup winners through.

Earlier on Tuesday, St Pauli broke out of their recent Bundesliga funk to win 2-1 at three-time winners Borussia Moenchengladbach.

Pauli had lost their last nine league matches, but goals from Martijn Kaars and Louis Oppie, either side of a header from Gladbach’s Haris Tabakovic, had the Hamburg-based side marching into the final eight.

In the German capital, Hertha Berlin thumped 2024 finalists Kaiserslautern 6-1, with 16-year-old Kennet Eichhorn becoming the youngest goalscorer in the competition’s history.

Bayern Munich, winners a record 20 times, play at Union Berlin on Wednesday, while holders Stuttgart are away at Bochum.

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Jobe Bellingham finding his feet as Dortmund head to City

Borussia Dortmund midfielder Jobe Bellingham is gradually making his mark after a slow start ahead of his return to England to face Manchester City on Wednesday.

Jobe joined Dortmund in the summer, aged 19, for a reported fee of 30.5 million euros ($35 million) from Sunderland, among the most expensive transfers in Dortmund’s history.

Jobe followed in the footsteps of his brother Jude, who moved to the Westfalenstadion five years earlier, aged 17.

Jude became one of the most sought-after players at Dortmund and is now a true superstar after moving to Real Madrid in 2023.

While Jobe has returned to England to play for the under-21s side he captains, Wednesday’s match will be his first on English soil for his new club.

Like City, Dortmund sit in the top eight, having won two and drawn one of their three Champions League games so far.

The younger Bellingham understood a move to Dortmund would provoke comparisons with Jude, but felt the club offered the best place for him to develop.

Like he did at Sunderland, the younger Bellingham has ‘Jobe’ on his jersey rather than his last name, due to his famous brother.

On arriving in Dortmund, Jobe admitted that pre-season comparisons with his older brother were on his mind.

“It’s something you do think about. You have these anxieties, especially me, as I’m only young,” he told reporters, adding, “I’m not perfect. I do think about these things.”

With Jude’s exploits in black and yellow fresh in the mind, Jobe took longer than many expected to find his feet in Germany.

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A decent Club World Cup showing, Jobe started three games, scoring a goal and assisting another before missing a showdown with his brother due to a yellow card suspension, was followed by a more difficult time when the season started.

Jobe was hooked at half-time in his opening Bundesliga game. Jobe’s father and agent Mark confronted Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl in the player tunnel after the match.

The incident forced Dortmund to publicly reiterate “the active area is and remains reserved for players, coaches and management, not families and advisors.”

Jobe started his next league match but was then benched, only picking up minutes in the dying stages of matches and failing to record any goals or assists during his brief cameos.

In mid-October at Bayern Munich, Jobe made a high-profile error, failing to clear the ball off the goal line, allowing Michael Olise to score what would eventually be the winner.

The setback seemed to spark the midfielder, however. Three days later, Jobe started in the Champions League at Copenhagen, laying on two assists in a 4-2 win.

On Tuesday, Jobe helped create Dortmund’s equaliser in a German Cup clash at Eintracht Frankfurt, which his side won on penalties.

And last Friday, the 20-year-old put his body on the line late to block a potential equaliser in the dying stages of a hard-fought 1-0 win at Augsburg.

A Dortmund source told German tabloid Bild on Monday that Jobe was in line to start against City.

While the noise had grown louder around Jobe, perhaps also from inside the Bellingham family itself, Dortmund feel his development is not lagging, but actually ahead of schedule.

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Dortmund knock Frankfurt out of German Cup on penalties

Borussia Dortmund eliminated Eintracht Frankfurt from the German Cup in the second round on Tuesday, winning 4-2 on penalties after the match finished 1-1.

Dortmund were faultless from the spot with Fabio Silva, Niklas Suele, Carney Chukwuemeka and Felix Nmecha all converting, while Ritsu Doan and Fares Chaibi both missed penalties for the home side.

Frankfurt’s Mario Goetze and Ansgar Knauff, both cup winners with Dortmund, combined to put the home side in front after seven minutes. Goetze threaded the ball through the Dortmund defence, allowing Knauff to stroke home.

Dortmund hit back three minutes after the break, Julian Brandt tapping in a pinpoint Julian Ryerson cross from close range.

The match went to extra time, and Germany striker Jonathan Burkardt looked to have sealed it for the hosts when he scored in the 115th minute, but the strike was ruled out for offside.

In the shootout, Can Uzun and former Chelsea striker Michy Batshuayi both converted for Frankfurt, but Doan blasted his attempt well over the bar.

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Chaibi needed to convert Frankfurt’s fourth kick to keep his side in with a chance, but blasted the ball straight at Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel, sending the visitors to the last 16.

“We’ve got a sensational goalie and plenty of good penalty shooters. It feels nice,” Brandt told reporters.

The game was a rematch of the 2017 German Cup final, won 2-1 by Dortmund, with current Borussia coach Niko Kovac then in the Frankfurt dugout.

Two-time winners RB Leipzig cantered to a 4-1 victory at neighbours Energie Cottbus, with Johan Bakayoko and Christoph Baumgartner both scoring doubles for the visitors.

Bochum eliminated top-flight Augsburg 1-0 away, and Borussia Moenchengladbach won 3-1 at home against Karlsruhe.

Elsewhere, Hertha Berlin beat Elversberg 3-0 in the German capital, Hamburg won 1-0 at Heidenheim and second-division Holstein Kiel beat hosts Wolfsburg 1-0.

On Wednesday, 20-time winners Bayern Munich travel to Cologne while holders Stuttgart play at Mainz.

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Borussia Dortmund sign Carney Chukwuemeka from Chelsea until 2030

Borussia Dortmund summer Premier League recruitment drive continued on Tuesday with the signing of midfielder Carney Chukwuemeka from Chelsea until 2030.

England under-21 representative Chukwuemeka, 21, joins for a reported fee of 25 million euros ($29 million).

He spent the second half of last season at Dortmund on loan, staying on as the club made the quarter-finals at the Club World Cup.

Chukwuemeka played 17 times for Dortmund in all competitions, scoring once, and impressed despite struggling with injury.

In a statement, Chukwuemeka said he was “happy Borussia Dortmund is now my footballing home. I will give everything to make sure we achieve our goals as a team”.

Born in Austria, Chukwuemeka moved to England at a young age and came through Aston Villa’s youth academy before signing with Chelsea in 2022.

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Dortmund sporting director Lars Ricken said the club was “delighted” to sign Chukwuemeka, who “further increases the quality and creativity of our attacking midfield”.

Dortmund also signed Jobe Bellingham from Sunderland and Yan Couto from Manchester City this summer.

Jobe’s brother Jude joined Dortmund from boyhood club Birmingham City in 2020, aged 17, moving to Real Madrid three years later for a fee estimated at 100 million euros ($117 million).

German tabloid Bild reported on Tuesday that two further Premier League signings could arrive before deadline day on Monday — Chelsea defender Aaron Anselmino and Wolves striker Fabio Silva.

Manchester United winger Jadon Sancho, who has had two previous stints at Dortmund and just ended a loan spell at Chelsea, has also been linked with a return to the Westfalenstadion.

On Tuesday morning, Borussia Dortmund extended coach Niko Kovac’s contract by one year until 2027.

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Borussia Dortmund extend coach Niko Kovac’s contract

Borussia Dortmund have extended the contract of their coach Niko Kovac by one season until 2027, the club announced on Tuesday.

Kovac, a former boss of Bayern Munich, Eintracht Frankfurt, and Monaco, joined Dortmund on an 18-month deal with the club in 11th spot in January 2025.

Despite falling as low as 13th, Kovac helped right the ship, with Dortmund winning 22 of a possible 24 points to close the season and secure the final Champions League spot in fourth.

“With honest work, clear decisions, and great enthusiasm, we want to help Borussia Dortmund return to our former strength,” Kovac said in a statement.

“We still have a lot to do together.”

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Dortmund sporting director Sebastian Kehl said Niko Kovac “approaches every game with conviction, intensity and passion,” adding “we believe together we can continue the successful path of last season’s final spurt.”

Considered a disciplinarian with a focus on fitness and work-rate, Kovac made his initial mark as a coach by winning the German Cup as Frankfurt manager in 2018.

Moving to Bayern, Kovac won the double in the 2018-19 season before being shown the door the following year.

As a player, the Berlin-born Kovac represented Croatia 83 times, scoring 14 goals, while playing for Bayern Munich, Bayer Leverkusen, and Hamburg.

Dortmund began the season with a disappointing 3-3 draw at St Pauli, conceding two goals and being reduced to 10 men in the final five minutes.

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Haller leaves Borussia Dortmund for Utrecht on permanent deal

Borussia Dortmund on Monday confirmed striker Sebastien Haller had joined Dutch side Utrecht on a permanent deal.

Haller reportedly joined on a free transfer, having been allowed to end his Dortmund contract a year early.

The 31-year-old Ivory Coast international spent the second half of last season on loan at Utrecht, the club he played for between 2015 and 2017.

“This summer there was quite a bit of interest from other clubs, but for me there was only one ideal scenario and that was FC Utrecht,” Haller said in a statement on the club’s website.

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The departure marks the end of a tumultuous time for Haller at Dortmund.

After arriving in a deal worth 31 million euros ($36 million) from Ajax in 2022, Haller was diagnosed with testicular cancer weeks later and missed six months while undergoing treatment.

He missed a penalty on the final day of the 2022-23 season in a 2-2 home draw against Mainz, which handed Bayern Munich the Bundesliga title.

The former West Ham and Eintracht Frankfurt forward scored the winning goal for the Ivory Coast in last year’s Africa Cup of Nations final against Nigeria.

Notably, Sebastien Haller has scored 12 goals and assisted six in 41 games for Borussia Dortmund.

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Borussia Dortmund thump Bayer Leverkusen to spoil Xabi Alonso’s home farewell

Borussia Dortmund romped to a 4-2 win at Bayer Leverkusen on Sunday, spoiling the last match of Xabi Alonso in the home dugout while boosting their Champions League hopes.

The visitors came from one down as Jeremie Frimpong’s early strike was cancelled out by goals from Julian Brandt, Julian Ryerson, Karim Adeyemi and Serhou Guirassy.

Alonso, who took Leverkusen to a league and cup double last year in his first full season in charge, announced his impending departure from the club on Friday, with Real Madrid the Spaniard’s likely destination.

Alonso told reporters his exit was “emotional and this club will stay in my heart forever”, adding he would “forget the result from today pretty quickly”.

Leverkusen’s title defence fizzled out with a 2-2 draw at Freiburg last Sunday, but the home fans were in a celebratory mood, 12 months after Alonso took them to a first league title in their 120-year history.

Leverkusen centre-back Jonathan Tah, who is also leaving at season’s end, was full of praise for Alonso.

“He’s got a certain aura, he’s a great coach and a great person. We can be thankful to him,” said Tah.

Before the game, Leverkusen celebrated Alonso’s time at the club as fans chanted ‘Danke Xabi’ and held up placards with pictures of the Basque coach, but Dortmund were in no mood to celebrate.

The hosts dominated the opening period, pinning visitors in their own half. Only some spectacular saves from Borussia Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel, who made seven stops before half-time alone, kept Bayer Leverkusen at bay.

Leverkusen’s pressure finally told with 31 minutes gone when Florian Wirtz waltzed through the penalty area, attracted three defenders before laying the ball off to Frimpong who curled a shot into the top corner.

Dortmund had barely left their own half, but the goal shook them to life. The visitors equalised two minutes later, Adeyemi cutting the ball back for Brandt to hammer home.

Brandt engineered Dortmund’s second two minutes before the break, winning a ball near the sideline and finding a cross to Pascal Gross, who swivelled and teed up Ryerson to drive a low shot into the net.

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Both Adeyemi and Guirassy, who each scored braces in last week’s 4-0 thumping of Wolfsburg, got on the scoresheet in the space of four second-half minutes.

Guirassy now has 33 goals from 44 games in his first season in Dortmund.

Wirtz, who has been linked with a summer departure, laid on a late consolation goal for Jonas Hofmann in stoppage time.

Xabi Alonso will coach Leverkusen one more time, in next week’s game at Mainz, but Leverkusen cannot finish any higher or lower than second.

At one point sitting 12th, Dortmund have picked up 19 of a possible 21 points and now sit one point behind fourth-placed Freiburg.

Dortmund’s job was made a little easier when third-placed Eintracht Frankfurt were held to a 2-2 draw at home to St Pauli later on Sunday.

Rasmus Kristensen opened the scoring with a stunner after just 23 seconds but St Pauli quickly turned the match around as goals from Manolis Saliakas and Morgan Guilavogui fired the visitors ahead.

Former Chelsea striker Michy Batshuayi equalised on 71 minutes and had the ball in the net again in the dying stages, but the goal was chalked off for handball.

Frankfurt stay third but face fourth-placed Freiburg next week, with the winners guaranteed to play in the Champions League. Dortmund need to beat relegated Holstein Kiel at home to join them.

In Sunday’s final match, Stuttgart dominated 10-man Augsburg at home in a 4-0 win, with goals from Atakan Karazor, Nick Woltemade, Enzo Millot and Ermedin Demirovic.

Stuttgart will face third-division Arminia Bielefeld in the German Cup final on May 24.

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Barcelona reach Champions League semis despite defeat at Borussia Dortmund

Barcelona are through to the Champions League semi-finals with a 5-3 aggregate win, despite losing 3-1 at Borussia Dortmund on Tuesday with Serhou Guirassy hitting a hat-trick.

Holding a 4-0 lead after a dominant performance in Catalonia, the visitors were made to sweat as Dortmund and Guirassy nearly pulled off a stunning turnaround.

Guirassy put Dortmund in front with a Panenka from the spot with 11 minutes gone and headed them two goals clear early in the second half.

Dortmund sensed a sensation, but Barcelona hit back, Fermin Lopez forcing Ramy Bensebaini into an own goal with just over half an hour remaining.

Guirassy reignited Dortmund’s belief with a third on the 76th-minute mark, and the final stages may have been different had Julian Brandt not been offside before scoring with 11 minutes remaining.

Despite losing their first competitive game in 2025, Barcelona are through to the semis, keeping their dream of a remarkable treble alive, 10 years after last completing the feat by winning the Champions League in Berlin.

Barcelona coach Hansi Flick praised Dortmund’s performance and said his side “need to focus on the positive, not the negatives”.

“What the team has shown in the past few weeks is incredible. We’ve got a lot ahead of us this season. We’re a step further, but we’re not even close to the end,” added the German.

Barcelona, considered title favourites, will face either Inter Milan or Bayern Munich in the final four.

Clearly outclassed in the first leg, Borussia Dortmund will take inspiration from Tuesday’s performance, not least the goal-scoring form of Guirassy.

The 29-year-old Guinean, who has spent most of his career bouncing between the first and second divisions in Germany and France, now has 13 Champions League goals this season- more than any other player.

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“I’m proud of what we were able to do. Barcelona are a strong team, but we fought until the death. We showed what we can do,” Guirassy said to Amazon Prime.

Despite a big first-leg lead, Hansi Flick made good on his pre-match pledge to continue attacking, opting against resting any of his attacking trident of Robert Lewandowski, Lamine Yamal or Raphinha.

With coach Niko Kovac admitting Dortmund needed a “miracle” to reach the semis after the debacle in Catalonia, the hosts’ task got a little harder when captain and centre-back Emre Can was ruled out with injury just before the match.

But Dortmund raced out of the blocks, Guirassy and strike partner Maximilian Beier going close inside the opening 10 minutes before Pascal Gross was the victim of a clumsy foul in the box by Wojciech Szczesny.

Guirassy stepped up to the spot and was nerveless, calmly unleashing a Panenka to get the hosts underway.

Borussia Dortmund sliced Barcelona open repeatedly without reward until half-time but made it count four minutes into the second-half, with Guirassy heading in a Ramy Bensebaini assist from a corner.

With Dortmund’s 81,355-strong Westfalenstadion smelling blood, Barcelona’s familiar response was to send their attack down the right, and the move paid off almost immediately.

After Yamal’s cross was half-cleared, Fermin Lopez found himself in the teenager’s channel, whipping a pass towards Lewandowski, which Bensebaini hit into his own net.

With Barcelona content to control possession as the clock wound down, Guirassy relit the hosts’ hopes when he scored his third in the final quarter of an hour, blasting in from close range after some delightful dribbling from teenage winger Julian Duranville.

The home fans erupted when Brandt scored three minutes later, but the midfielder was offside, allowing Barcelona a breather.

Barcelona managed to hold on despite waves of energetic Dortmund attacks in the final stages to remain on track for the treble.

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Vinicius hat-trick scripts Real Madrid’s comeback victory over Borussia Dortmund

Vinicius Junior scored a sublime hat-trick as Champions League holders Real Madrid came back from two goals down to hammer Borussia Dortmund 5-2 on Tuesday.

After a shock stumble at Lille in their previous European match, Madrid crushed Dortmund, in a repeat of last season’s final, with a superb second half display.

Carlo Ancelotti’s side claimed a record-extending 15th Champions League crown at Wembley and, as in that match, struggled in the first half against the Bundesliga side, who went two goals up through Donyell Malen and Jamie Gittens.

However Antonio Rudiger and Vinicius pulled Madrid level with two goals in two minutes and Lucas Vazquez fired home the third after 83 minutes.

Vinicius produced a brilliant solo goal for Madrid’s fourth and slammed in the fifth as Los Blancos ended Dortmund’s 100 percent start to the competition by producing another comeback to add to a vast collection in Europe.

“We know that when we are at home, with our fans, anything can happen,” Vinicius told Movistar. “We went in (at half-time) very quiet and just listened to the coach, we said just one thing.

“If we scored the first, we would come back once again, and we made another comeback, thanks to the fans and the whole team who gave everything.”

After midfield maestro Toni Kroos’ retirement and while trying to bed Mbappe into the team, Madrid have struggled to find balance and consistency this season.

They were frustrated for the first half an hour of the game by the visitors, unable to create clear cut openings before the game burst open.

“We have to learn from what we are capable of in this second half with high intensity and high tempo, we have to start games like that, not wait until they have scored two to react like we did,” warned Ancelotti.

“To be more balanced in terms of intensity between the first half and the second is something we have to achieve and I am sure we will do it.”

Malen opened the scoring with a cool finish after Julian Brandt won the ball back on the edge of the area and Serhou Guirassy squeezed a pass through a tight gap to find the Dutch winger.

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Four minutes later Malen created the second, using his explosive pace to escape Ferland Mendy and crossing for Gittens to gleefully finish.

Madrid responded by carving open Dortmund before the break but without finding a killer finish.

Bellingham, without a goal in 10 games this season, headed straight at Gregor Kobel when he ran onto a scooped pass into the area.

The England international, facing his former club, then struck the crossbar from close range on the rebound after team-mate Rodrygo had also hit the woodwork, with Madrid fans barely able to believe they had not scored.

The hosts turned the screw in the second half and Kobel saved well at the near post from Lucas Vazquez but could not keep out Rudiger’s powerful header from Mbappe’s cross after an hour.

Two minutes later Madrid were level when Mbappe was tackled in the area but the ball fell invitingly for Vinicius to stroke home with ease.

Dortmund coach Nuri Sahin, formerly a Madrid player, took off goalscorers Gitten and Malen but his team could not keep the insatiable hosts at bay.

Madrid’s comeback was completed by Vazquez after Rodrygo did well to keep the ball from going out of play, and Vinicius added shine with his fine fourth.

The Brazilian, expected to claim a first Ballon d’Or on Monday in Paris, carried the ball forward without support and produced a lethal low finish.

Vinicius then added a fifth by bursting into the area and rifling past Kobel, also issuing a warning to La Liga leaders Barcelona who visit the Bernabeu on Saturday in La Liga.

“We’ll go for it, in our stadium, with our fans, and we will fight for everything this season like always,” added Vinicius.

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Real Madrid defy Borussia Dortmund to win 15th Champions League

LONDON: Real Madrid withstood a Borussia Dortmund barrage to win the Champions League for the 15th time as Dani Carvajal and Vinicius Junior struck late in a 2-0 win at Wembley on Saturday.

Right-back Carvajal headed in from Toni Kroos’ corner on 74 minutes before Vinicius fired home to extend the Spanish giants’ record as the most successful club in Champions League history.

Madrid have now won their last nine European Cup finals and won the competition six times in the last 11 seasons.

However, not for the first time in that run, they had to rely on some good fortune as underdogs Dortmund were left to bitterly regret not making the most of their first-half chances.

Niclas Fuellkrug hit the post and Karim Adeyemi failed to convert a one-on-one with Thibaut Courtois.

Madrid, though, always seem to find a way in Europe’s elite competition and made more history in London.

“They left us alive with the game level and in the second half we started to play better,” said Madrid coach Carlo Ancelotti.

“This squad leaves me very satisfied because we don’t always play our best but we never give up.”

Carvajal, Kroos, Nacho and Luka Modric joined Real legend Paco Gento as the only players to win the European Cup six times.

Ancelotti also extended his record as the most successful coach in the competition’s history with his fifth title.

A record number of more than 2,500 stewards were in place at Wembley with the authorities keen to avoid a repeat of the violent scenes that marred the Euro 2020 final three years ago when ticketless fans stormed the turnstiles.

But further questions over the security operation will be raised as three pitch invaders were able to enter the field in the opening minutes of the game, with one taking photos alongside Jude Bellingham and Vinicius.

The Metropolitan Police said there had been 53 arrests, including five for pitch invasions.

Ancelotti said pre-match he felt “like a lion” after an afternoon siesta, but his side were caught napping for the first 45 minutes as, roared on by the travelling thousands from Germany, Borussia Dortmund dominated.

The decision to recall Courtois for his first Champions League appearance of the season after a serious knee injury paid dividends as the Belgian kept Real Madrid in the game.

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Dortmund’s best chances fell to Adeyemi as Carvajal could not deal with the German international’s pace.

A brilliant pass by Mats Hummels put Adeyemi clean through, but he took a heavy touch under pressure from Courtois and ran too wide before his shot was blocked by Carvajal.

Fuellkrug’s barrel-chested physique has made him a fan favourite in his first season at Dortmund.

The German international striker came closest to breaking the deadlock before half-time when his effort from Ian Maatsen’s through ball came back off the inside of the post.

Adeyemi was then denied once more by Courtois from a narrow angle and Fuellkrug could not twist his frame to turn in the rebound.

“We didn’t show the efficiency to score,” said Borussia Dortmund boss Edin Terzic.

“We were close to taking the lead but then there was a momentum shift where the game turned around and you see why they are the champions of this competition.”

Ancelotti, Nacho and Modric were keen to stress on the eve of the match that Madrid’s habit of finding a way to get over the line in the Champions League was no coincidence.

Having ridden their luck once more in the first half, the Spanish champions found their feet in the second period.

Gregor Kobel was finally forced into a save on 48 minutes from Kroos, who came close to marking the final game of his club career with a spectacular free-kick.

Bellingham was moulded into a world star during three years at Dortmund before leaving for Madrid 12 months ago for more than 100 million euros ($108 million).

The England international was inches away from biting the hand that used to feed him as he just could not get a telling touch on Vinicius’ teasing cross.

Madrid landed the decisive blow 16 minutes from time when Carvajal rose highest to head into Kroos’ corner.

Kobel then briefly kept his side alive with fine saves from Eduardo Camavinga and Nacho, while Bellingham’s goalbound effort was deflected behind by Nico Schlotterbeck.

But Bellingham did have a moment to savour on his homecoming as his pass teed up Vinicius to kill off Dortmund despite Kobel getting a hand to the Brazilian’s powerful shot.

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