Real Madrid were crowned champions of Europe for a record-breaking 15th time after defeating a spirited Borussia Dortmund at Wembley Stadium. Late goals from Dani Carvajal and Vinicius Jr in Saturday’s Champions League final were enough to see Los Blancos further cement their status as the greatest club side in European football history.
Toni Kroos, making his final appearance in club football, provided the assist for Carvajal’s opening goal in the 74th minute. Vinicus Jr, who’d had a quiet game, then added gloss to the scoreline late on.
Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid went into the final as favourites against a Dortmund team that defied the odds to reach this season’s showpiece final, defeating Inter, Atletico Madrid and Paris Saint-Germain in the knockout stages en route to Wembley. Edin Terzic’s side finished fifth in the Bundesliga, 27 points behind champions Bayer Leverkusen, but had reserved their best performances of the 2023-24 campaign for Europe’s premier club competition.
After several pitch invaders were removed early on, the German side unexpectedly dominated the opening 45 minutes and created several opportunities to take the lead before half-time. Julian Brandt hit a shot narrowly off target before the lively Karim Adeyemi found himself one-on-one with Thibaut Courtois, who’d only recently returned from a serious long-term injury, but was left to rue a heavy touch that forced him too wide.
Niclas Fullkrug hit the post moments later as Dortmund pilled the pressure on their star-studded opponents before Adeyemi forced another save from Courtois. Dortmund were having plenty of joy on the counter-attack and the stats showed they’d had seven attempts at goal compared to Real Madrid’s two after 35 minutes.
Real Madrid didn’t manage to get a shot on target in the first half but veteran midfielder Toni Kroos eventually forced a save from Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel in the 49th minute. Dani Carvajal then tested Kobel as Ancelotti’s men slowly attempted to find their rhythm.
Much of the pre-match talk had focused on Jude Bellingham, Real Madrid’s top goalscorer in La Liga this season with 19 goals and one of the current favourites for the 2024 Ballon d’Or award. However, the England international struggled to stamp his authority on the game in the biggest match of his young career so far.
Similarly, Vinicius Jr – labelled by some pundits and fans alike as the world’s best player in the build up to the final – was also surprisingly quiet up until his late goal. Reports in Spain prior to kick-off claimed the Brazilian superstar had been unwell in recent days and this may explain his largely ineffective performance.
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Still, the two world-class teammates almost combined to give Real Madrid the lead with just over 20 minutes remaining. Vinicius’s cross almost met Bellingham’s head, but the Englishman wasn’t able to get a touch on the ball.
Marco Reus, who was part of the Dortmund side that lost the 2013 Champions League final against Bayern Munich at Wembley and was making his final appearance for BVB on Saturday, entered the fray in the 72nd minute in place of Adeyemi. But it was Real Madrid who took the lead two minutes later through Carvajal, who rose highest to head the ball past Kobel. Watch Carvajal’s goal below:
Bellingham had a golden opportunity to kill the game off moments later but saw his shot deflect wide. Kroos then forced a save from Kobel with another free-kick, as he aimed to add the cherry on top of his extraordinary Real Madrid career.
A mistake by Ian Maatsen led to Bellingham setting up Vinicius for Real Madrid’s second and final goal of the night.
Kroos then recieved a fitting farewell when he was substituted shortly before full-time, bowing out in style after winning his sixth Champions League title. Watch the video:
Despite Dortmund’s best efforts, it was yet another wonderful night in the history of Real Madrid, who have a bond with the Champions League like no other club.
