Real Madrid Win Record A Por La 15th Champions League Title
APor La 15. It’s been Real Madrid’s motto throughout this campaign as they hunted down their 15th Champions League title. And they have it, after beating Borussia Dortmund 2-0 in Wembley, although for a long time their coronation looked in severe doubt.
Dani Carvajal and Vinicius Junior were the heroes for Real, scoring on 74 minutes and 83 minutes respectively to claim victory for Carlo Ancelotti and Co.
Dortmund will slope back to North Rhine-Westphalia with their luggage loaded with regrets. Because for two-thirds of this match, they were the better team.
Not just better, but superior in almost every department.
The much-vaunted Jude Bellingham was muted.
Dortmund created chances but did not take them. And it proved costly.
Real Madrid are the grand masters of this competition. In the 69th Champions League final, Wembley hosted for the eighth time.
Before this, the La Liga winners had yet to land Europe’s top prize on English soil but they can now add London to Glasgow as a holy city.
This team is made of the finest minerals, able to ride out storms and then punish rivals for their profligacy.
It was a fitting finale for their German maestro Toni Kroos, playing the 718th and final club match of his career. He will retire in summer with six Champions League winners medals in his satchel. Not too shabby. His next assignment: Germany v Scotland on June 14. The 34-year-old signs off for good at the Euros. He was not at his best either but he helped haul Madrid back into this.
Wembley was packed and noisy right from the off. The match was halted just two minutes in as three pitch invaders strayed on to the surface. It was an embarrassing moment for the security staff, who struggled to take the trio down. Eventually they removed the interlopers from the field of play, with Dortmund’s Marcel Sabitzer helping out with one of them.
After the trouble at the Euro 2020 final, in which ticketless fans stormed gates to gain access to the stadium, this was not what the host venue would have wanted with all eyes on the showpiece of the European club season.
The opening stages were competitive but lacking in any clear-cut moments. Dortmund forced an early corner but could do little with it. Vinicius tried a couple of runs against Julian Ryerson but got little joy. Then, on 14 minutes, Niclas Fullkrug got in behind Antonio Rudiger. He cut the ball back to Julian Brandt but the German midfielder’s effort was sclaffed and drifted harmlessly wide of Thibault Courtois’ post.
They had a far better moment on 21 minutes. Karim Adeyemi bent his run beautifully to surge on to an Emre Can through ball and found himself bearing down on goal. With just Courtois to beat, he went round the Belgian but the angle narrowed quickly and he was unable to net as Carvajal raced back to block. It was a concerning moment for Real Madrid, who were sliced open too easily.
