Del Bosque looks to last eight

By Rafa García

Real Madrid CF breathed a collective sigh of relief on Wednesday after goals from Raúl González and Ronaldo ensured the European champions climbed off the bottom of UEFA Champions League Group C with an impressive 2-1 victory over BV Borussia Dortmund.

Intense pressure
Going into the match with just one point to show from their first two encounters against AC Milan and FC Lokomotiv Moskva, and without a Champions League victory in six matches, the pressure on Vicente del Bosque's side was intense. But after a nervous opening period, Madrid seized command and were able to turn the tables after Jan Koller had stunned the Santiago Bernabéu with a 30th-minute goal to put Dortmund ahead against the run of play.

'Important step'
Crucially, victory put Madrid back in charge of their destiny. "We can now depend on ourselves to finish second in the group," said their Brazilian left-back, Roberto Carlos. "The most important thing about this match is that next week Dortmund will need to beat us and it will be them who are under pressure. We have taken a very important step in qualifying for the quarter-finals."

'We can be first'
Milan lead the group with maximum points from three games after beating Lokomotiv 1-0 but a confident Del Bosque now believes that the Italian side can be caught. "We can be first because we have to play three more matches and I don't think Milan are that far from us," the coach said. "The group is very close and anything could happen before the end."

Constant menace
Overoptimistic perhaps, but after a night when Madrid's stars stood up to be counted, it cannot be ruled out. Zinedine Zidane and Luis Figo probed and prompted from midfield, Roberto Carlos powered forward down the left and Raúl was a constant menace. His equalising goal was the epitome of persistence. Jens Lehmann had earlier saved bravely from the striker when through on goal, but this time Raúl had the last word, prodding in when prone on the floor.

Ronaldo winner
Ronaldo was not at his best, but the Brazilian was on hand to turn Zidane's measured cross beyond Lehmann eleven minutes into the second half to collect his first Champions League goal for the club and seal the points. If not for Lehmann the victory would have been more comfortable, Raúl, in particular, pushing the keeper to the limit a minute into the second half with a curling, dipping shot from the edge of the area.

'We should have scored more'
"We played very well up front and we controlled the offensive actions," Del Bosque said. "We only had problems in the last 15 minutes, when we began to tire. We made a great physical effort and we created a lot of chances. We should have scored more goals."

Sammer rueful
The fact that they did not, ensured that Dortmund were never out of the match, and with Koller, Ewerthon and Tomáš Rosický a threat when on the ball, the visitors' coach, Matthias Sammer, felt aggrieved his side did not take anything from the match. "We should have had our eyes wide open, but we couldn't stop Raul and Zidane's inspiration," Sammer said.

Del Bosque 'calm'
The two teams meet again in the Westfalenstadion next week with the group evenly poised. Dortmund have slipped to third on three points from three matches with Madrid a point better off in second, but still five behind Milan. "Borussia have to beat us and we are very calm because we now feel that the quarter-finals are very close," Del Bosque said. Few would doubt him.