Champions League: ‘Relieved’ Dortmund edge into final

Real Madrid lament missed opportunities in semi-final second-leg.

MADRID: Real Madrid ultimately lost the war as Borussia Dortmund held on by their fingernails to clinch a place in the Champions League final with a 4-3 aggregate win despite losing the second-leg 2-0 after conceding late goals in a nerve-shredding finish at the Bernabeu.

The German side, who will play in their second final after winning the competition in 1997, survived early pressure from a fired-up Real in the last-four second-leg clash before wasting several chances to kill off the home team.

With the raucous crowd on its feet and willing their team on, the Real players desperately sought the goal that would have taken them through but Dortmund held out to set up a clash with Bundesliga rivals Bayern Munich or Barcelona.

“It was tight at the end,” said Dortmund coach Juergen Klopp in a television interview. We had our huge chances before that. Had we scored then it would have been over. Overall we played too little football but we won 4-3 over two games and deserve to be in the final.”

An unhappy Mourinho speaks out

Real’s reverse is also a huge setback for their charismatic coach Mourinho, who was trying to become the first man to win the Champions League with three different clubs after triumphs with Porto in 2004 and Inter Milan in 2010.

It is the fifth time the Portuguese has been knocked out in the last-four of Europe’s elite club competition in seven semi-final attempts.

In typically outspoken fashion, Mourinho complained that Dortmund defender Mats Hummels should have been sent off for handball in the second half but praised his players for ‘giving their all’.

“We had opportunities to score much earlier and then we obviously would have had a better chance,” Mourinho, who has refused to commit to staying at Real beyond the end of this season, told Spanish TV. “Near the end we almost got there but almost does not exist. Either you make it or you don’t and we didn’t make it,” he added.

Mourinho hints at England return

Jose Mourinho has hinted that he could be set for a return to England after seeing his Real Madrid side go out of the Champions League at the semi-final stage for the third consecutive season.

After the game with Dortmund, Mourinho refused to confirm that he will still be in charge of the Spanish champions next season.

“My future is not important, it is Real Madrid that are important,” said Mourinho.

“I know that in England I am loved. I am loved by the fans and the media who are fair with me. They criticise me and give me credit when I deserve it.”

Published in The Express Tribune, May 2^nd, 2013.