Modric bemoans Real defeat

Luka Modric called for improvement after Real Madrid scraped through to the semi-finals of the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday.

Real, who rested star man Cristiano Ronaldo, were beaten 2-0 by an injury-depleted Borussia Dortmund team at Signal Iduna Park but the Spanish giants still progressed to the final four after winning 3-2 on aggregate.

Despite booking their spot in the next round, Modric was at a loss to explain the team’s poor performance.

“I don’t know what happened,” Modric said.

“It may be that we were complacent because we won 3-0 and we started thinking it would be easy. I don’t know.

“We need to learn from this match. We always say we need to learn but we never do.”

Real, record nine-times winners of Europe’s prestigious club event, will appear in a fourth consecutive semi-final.

But Croatia midfielder Modric felt that the club’s achievement was overshadowed by their lacklustre display.

“Of course we’re happy we’ve reached the semi-finals but we aren’t happy with how we’ve played, especially in the first-half,” he said.

“We can’t allow what happened in the first-half. But we improved and we are in the semi-final.”

Real have lost at the last-four stage three years running, including a 4-3 aggregate loss to Dortmund last season.

The last time Real advanced to the final, they lifted the trophy after triumphing 2-1 over Bayer Leverkusen in 2002.