Borussia Dortmund qualified for their second-ever Champions League final on Tuesday, beating Real Madrid 4-3 on aggregate despite losing the second leg of their semifinal 2-0 at the Santiago Bernabeu.

The intense atmosphere created by the home fans before kickoff was matched by their team's energetic start and Gonzalo Higuain missed a great chance after just 4 minutes as he was slipped in by Mesut Ozil but Roman Weidenfeller stood up well to block his effort.

Angel di Maria and Cristiano Ronaldo then saw efforts fly over and Dortmund suffered a big blow on 12 minutes when Mario Goetze pulled up with an injury after hitting a routine ball forward.

However, while still playing with 10 men, they had their best chance of the opening period as Robert Lewandowski controlled a long free kick from Ilkay Gundogan but placed his shot too close to Diego Lopez.

Seconds later Ronaldo had an even better chance as he too chested down a long ball before volleying straight into Weidenfeller's body before Kevin Grosskreutz could even come on to take Dortmund back up to their full compliment. Ozil then had the best opportunity of the first half as a lovely reverse ball from Di Maria put him clean through on goal but he pulled his shot wide of the near post.

After a chastening first 15 minutes Dortmund settled admirably as their patience in possession made an increasingly desperate Madrid chase shadows at times.

Dortmund's ascendancy continued after the break and Lewandowski was desperately unlucky to see a fierce drive from a narrow angle come back out after striking the underside of the bar.

Real coach Jose Mourinho threw on Karim Benzema and Kaka as a last throw of the dice 10 minutes into the second half but it seemed to be a fruitless move as Madrid lost their shape against a Dortmund side flowing with confidence.

Another lovely move from the visitors saw Marco Reus tee up what seemed like a certain goal for Gundogan only for Lopez to somehow repel the ball with his trailing arm.

The hosts were then given a glimmer of hope 8 minutes from time when Kaka released Ozil and his cross was turned home by Benzema.

And they were soon rampant when Benzema set up Sergio Ramos to crash home a second 5 minutes later.

However, a Ramos header that sailed wide in stoppage time was the closest they came to sealing a remarkable comeback as Dortmund booked their place in the final at Wembley.

AFP - Global Times