A week before the much-awaited Ballon d’Or ceremony, Vinicius Junior scored his first-ever Champions League hat trick against Borussia Dortmund. Real Madrid leveled on points with their visitors after a second-half show clinched them a 5-2 victory.

Şahin’s changes stunned Madrid

The champions lost to Jonathan David’s LOSC Lille on matchday two. Meanwhile, they haven’t been convincing in the league despite closing the gap with Barcelona to three points before Saturday’s El Clasico. Kylian Mbappé and Vinicius Junior scored the goals in the weekend’s 2-1 victory at Celta Vigo.

Jude Bellingham also produced a stunning performance in that game. But his new role makes it difficult to repeat last season’s scoring exploits. The England midfielder assisted Vinicius’ goal when these two sides met in last season’s final.

For all their underwhelming performances in the Bundesliga, Dortmund sat at the top of the Champions League before this week’s games. Nuri Şahin, a former Real Madrid midfielder, made three changes to the side that beat St. Pauli on Friday. New signings Waldemar Anton and Pascal Groß dropped to the bench alongside the underfired club captain Emre Can.

Those changes were key for the visitors going 2-0 up at the half-time break. Niklas Süle and Felix Nmecha added more physicality to the side while Jamie Bynoe-Gittens became the third player to score three Champions League goals for Dortmund after Karim Adeyemi and Serhou Guirassy.

Real Madrid failed to create clear-cut chances in another lackluster half of soccer from Carlo Ancelotti’s side. The only time they came close to scoring was when Rodrygo and Bellingham rattled the crossbar in mere seconds.

Vinicius hat trick guides Real Madrid to victory

Surprisingly, Şahin preferred an extremely cautious approach after the half-time break. In hopes of clinging to their two-goal lead, they tried to put on a defensive masterclass. Unfortunately for the 36-year-old coach, defensive solidarity has never been Dortmund’s strength.

Boosted by their vociferous crowd, the hosts leveled the score before the second half reached its midpoint. After Vinicius’ equalizing goal, Şahin doubled up on his decision by replacing Donyell Malen with Groß. The Dutch winger was instrumental in the first half with a goal and an assist.

Somehow, Dortmund improved after that to even create chances to regain their lead. The captain Julian Brandt missed a great opportunity before inadvertently assisting Real Madrid’s skipper Lucas Vázquez. Before the end of the game, Vinicius completed his hat trick with two superb strikes.

Real Madrid crowned their 15th Champions League triumph with a win over Dortmund last season, but there have been some memorable head-to-head encounters for the German side. Dortmund took four points off of José Mourinho’s team when they met in the 2012-13 group stage.

As fate has it, they also crossed paths in a memorable semi-final tie that season. Jürgen Klopp’s side advanced to the final with an aggregate 4-3 win thanks to an unforgettable four-goal salvo from Robert Lewandowski.

However, Dortmund never won a game at Santiago Bernabéu. They always seem to find a way to correct their false start, but Real Madrid are expected to dominate teams instead of scrapping results. 

What’s next for Real Madrid & Borussia Dortmund?

The season’s first El Clasico will be played on Saturday between Real Madrid and Barcelona. Hansi Flick’s side performed beyond expectations to sit top of LaLiga’s standings ahead of the star-studded side from the capital. Los Blancos’ next two European games will see them play fellow multiple-time Champions League winners AC Milan and Liverpool.

Dortmund will face relegation-threatened Augsburg. The Black and Yellows are winless in their last three trips to WWK Arena. Despite squandering a two-goal lead, they’re still in a good position to progress to the Champions League Round of 16 since Barcelona and Bologna are their only top-five league opponents in the remaining five rounds of games.

PHOTOS: IMAGO