Real Madrid must shift La Liga goal prowess to Champions League

Although German pair Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund were fancied by some as Champions League dark horses, few would have expected them to be in such dominant positions heading into their respective Champions League semi-final second legs.

But Dortmund, 50/1 pre-tournament chances, have now shortened to 7/4 shots to lift the European Cup, second favourites behind 4/6 Bayern, and far ahead of 9/1 Real Madrid and 33/1 Barcelona in the betting, following their 4-1 triumph at home to Real.

However, it should be noted that replication of Los Blancos’ domestic goalscoring form could feasibly give Jose Mourinho’s men a chance of reaching the final of this competition for the first time since 2002.

Indeed, Real will have to find the net on a minimum three occasions in the return leg, and they have registered at least this amount of goals in 10 of their 16 La Liga outings at Santiago Bernabeu this season.

Mourinho’s charges have notched four or more times in eight of those games too, and smarting from his biggest ever Champions League defeat, the Spanish giants’ flamboyant manager will be desperate to oversee an emphatic home success.

Meanwhile, although the reigning Bundesliga champions were well worth their first-leg Westfalenstadion victory, it would perhaps not have been achieved by such a wide margin but for Robert Lewandowski’s ruthless masterclass in finishing.

Lewandowski was responsible for all four Dortmund strikes within the game, becoming the first ever player to bag a hat-trick against Los Blancos in this competition, and taking his seasonal European tally to 10.

That display transformed the Polish hitman into 7/2 second favourite for the Champions League top scorer accolade, but his main rival for that award can prove another reason why Real’s hopes of tournament glory shouldn’t be dismissed just yet.

1/5 Cristiano Ronaldo remains at the forefront of the Champions League goal chart with 12 to his name, two of which have already been scored against Dortmund.

And having hit 20 hat-tricks in his three-and-a-half year stint as a Los Blancos player, Ronaldo’s ability to win a match almost single-handedly is evident.

If the Portugal captain’s second-leg performance can be as devastating as that of Lewandowski in the first leg, of which he is perfectly capable, Real’s 9/1 odds to claim a 10th European Cup will appear yet more generous.

All Odds and Markets are correct as of the date of publishing.