AI-generated editorial illustration inspired by a European football evening.
Updated: 16 October 2026
Real Madrid’s 5–2 victory over Borussia Dortmund at the Santiago Bernabéu on 22 October 2024 was a match of sharply contrasting halves. Dortmund reached the interval two goals ahead. Madrid then scored five times, with Vinícius Júnior completing a hat-trick.
This report revisits the completed match from the 2024–25 season.
Two goals down at the interval
Donyell Malen and Jamie Gittens scored Dortmund’s first-half goals. Their lead meant Madrid entered the second half needing a substantial response, not merely a finishing touch to an already comfortable performance. The eventual score should not obscure the position the home side had to recover from.
Madrid threatened before the interval too. After Dortmund’s goals, Rodrygo struck the crossbar and Jude Bellingham hit the woodwork with the follow-up in the same attacking sequence. The home side had opportunities to reduce the deficit before half-time, but neither effort changed the 0–2 score. That double chance is an important part of the opening half, beyond the two goals at the other end.
Five second-half goals
Rüdiger began the comeback in the 60th minute, heading in Mbappé’s cross. Two minutes later, Vinícius turned in a loose ball after Mbappé’s run; the equaliser stood following a VAR check. In a short spell, Madrid had erased the two-goal deficit. The first response came through a centre-back’s header, before the winger supplied the second finish.
The next decisive exchange came much later. Courtois denied Maximilian Beier in the 82nd minute, and Lucas Vázquez made it 3–2 in the 83rd with a shot across goal from inside the area. The narrow gap between those incidents shows how close the match remained before Madrid found the lead. A save at one end preceded the breakthrough at the other.
Vinícius made it 4–2 in the 86th minute after carrying the ball from his own half and shooting from outside the area. In added time, he beat Pascal Groß and Waldemar Anton before scoring again to complete his hat-trick. Those final goals gave his performance its spectacular finish, after Rüdiger and Lucas had also supplied crucial contributions to the recovery.
The context: league phase and a recent final
The October fixture belonged to matchday three of the 2024–25 league phase, with 36 clubs in one table and eight different opponents per team. It also reunited the clubs after the 1 June 2024 final at Wembley. Madrid had won that earlier meeting 2–0 with goals from Dani Carvajal and Vinícius, giving the autumn game an immediate place in their recent shared history.
Planning another Madrid football visit
For another European evening, compare the September 2024 win over Stuttgart. If you are arranging a new Madrid trip, browse the current match catalogue and check the confirmed schedule and details of your selected event.
Further reading
Consult the official club report, UEFA’s full-time match record and the 2024–25 competition guide.