UEFA Champions League 2017/18: Borussia Dortmund 1-3 Real Madrid, 5 Talking Points

Real Madrid Dortmund 3-1 5 Talking Points — *****

Real Madrid defeated Borussia Dortmund by a 3-1 scoreline at the Westfalenstadion to go top of Group H, with Borussia Dortmund now facing a daunting task of qualifying after having lost both their games so far.

Gareth Bale opened the scoring with a stunning goal, before Cristiano Ronaldo made it 2-0 early in the second half. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang grabbed a goal back soon after, but Ronaldo ended the contest with 10 minutes to go with his second of the night.

Here are the major talking points from the game:

#1 Real Madrid are a different animal in Europe.

6 games, 540 minutes, and a club with the European pedigree of Real Madrid had never beaten Borussia Dortmund at the Westfalenstadion.

No more. It may be known as the 'Signal Iduna Park' for corporate reasons, but facing the Yellow Wall has made many a team wilt at their sight.

Yet, Zinedine Zidane's side are nothing if not world-beaters, time and again proving that the improbable is not beyond them. In a performance that looked entirely unlike the disjointed, unsure avatar that they've appeared in La Liga this season, Real Madrid used the UEFA Champions League - 'our competition', according to Cristiano Ronaldo - to get their season back on track.

Perhaps it was the fact that with Toni Kroos and Luka Modric pulling the strings, Madrid look far better than whatever Mateo Kovacic, Dani Ceballos et al can offer. Casemiro protected his defence for most of the night, and when he didn't Raphael Varane and Nacho were ever present to bail out Madrid.

Class tells, and Los Blancos have bags of it.