Real Madrid gets Lewandowski-ed off the pitch

Robert Lewandowski enjoyed a career night tallying all four goals for Borussia Dortmund who pulverized Real Madrid 4-1 in their Champions League first leg semifinal in Dortmund.

Madrid manager Jose Mourinho sent out an expected starting XI with Luka Modric in place of Ángel Di María serving as the only major change.

The German side started the brighter of the two. Looking to duplicate the sublime first leg semifinal performance of their Bundesliga brethren Bayern Munich, Dortmund threatened early and often. Sami Khedira lost possession in the middle of the field in the fifth minute and Reus took advantage, charging toward goal only to see his shot tipped away by Madrid goalkeeper Diego López.

However, two minutes later, not even the superb recent form of the Galician netminder could stop Lewandowski from scoring. A ball was fed out on the left wing to Götze who then sliced in a perfect cross that Lewandowski booted home.

Staring down the barrel of elimination, Mourinho's group tried to wrestle back control of the match but only saw their night go from bad to worse. A 66th minute collision in the Madrid area gifted Dortmund a penalty. A sloppy push in the back by Xabi Alonso on Reus earned Dortmund the spot kick and Lewandowski easily converted to pick up his fourth goal on the night and extend the Dortmund advantage to 4-1 in the 68th.

With away goals still at a premium, Madrid pushed desperately for a second with Ronaldo trying to find some way through the Dortmund defense, but Klopp’s back four held strong as they had all night.

Mourinho's group now head back to the Spanish capital licking their wounds and with a mountain to climb in six days’ time.