Sports
King of Europe again! Real Madrid beat Dortmund to win Champions League
Dani Carvajal and Vinicius Junior scored two late goals to hand Real Madrid their 15th Champions League title.
Los Blancos were lacklustre for the most part and Dortmund would have been kicking themselves at half-time, having spurned a series of chances in the first-half. Karim Adeyemi was the main culprit, rounding Thibaut Courtois but failing to put the ball into the net.
Nicklas Fullkrug also hit the post, with Madrid having struggling to turn their dominance of possession into clear-cut chances. Madrid continued to be stuck in first gear in the second-half, though neither side were able to create clear-cut chances.
Despite their struggles, Madrid took an undeserved lead with 15 minutes to go when Carvajal rose highest to head Toni Kroos corner into the far post.
Vinicius then doubled their lead with seven minutes remaining to ensure it was Madrid who took home the trophy. Here, Mirror Football rounds up the biggest talking points from the final.
This was the last chance for several players to win a major trophy with their respective clubs. For Madrid, Toni Kroos is retiring at the end of the season, once he has played in the Euros for Germany.
The midfielder has been a staple of Madrid’s success over the past decade but will hang up his boots in July. Meanwhile over at Dortmund, Marco Reus will be leaving Signal Iduna Park after this game.
His next destination is unknown, though the MLS appears to be the most likely option. He did play the final 20 minutes, but it was Kroos who was celebrating come full-time.
Thirty seconds. That’s all it took for pitch invaders to get onto the Wembley pitch, bringing the eagerly-awaited match to an early pause and leaving security officials red-faced.
The clash between Madrid and Dortmund had just kicked off when three separate invaders made it onto the pitch, approaching some of the players in the process. One appeared to take a selfie with a confused Jude Bellingham, before continuing to run around the pitch.
Another outran security for some moments and almost made it back in among the fans before being caught. Dortmund star Marcel Sabitzer, according to TNT Sports commentator Darren Fletcher, even intervened and helped to bring one of the pitch invaders down to the ground.
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.
All eyes were on Jude Bellingham in the build-up to granddaddy of all events at Wembley – but Real Madrid’s main man took on more of a supporting role on home soil.
Bellingham has proved himself as the man for the big occasion since moving to the Bernabeu with decisive goals in both El Clasico clashes in La Liga, but he was uncharacteristically subdued in London. The England star spent most of the night chasing the shadows of yellow and black shirts as his former team-mates swarmed all over Los Blancos under the Wembley arch.
He spurned two golden chances in the second-half either side of Dani Carvajal’s winning goal which, on another night, may have come back to haunt him. But he persevered and teed up Vinicius Junior to plunder the goal which gave the kings of Europe breathing space.
Regardless of his performance on the night, a maiden European trophy is just reward for the phenomenal impact Bellingham has had in Madrid over the past 12 months. And given his supreme ability and Real Madrid’s apparent plot armour when it comes to Europe’s grandest competition, it’s unlikely to be his last.
Manchester United may have been secretly hoping that Jadon Sancho would use this game as a chance to audition his skills to potential suitors. The winger has enjoyed a successful loan spell at Dortmund.
But he struggled to make an impact up against Madrid left-back Ferland Mendy. Sancho was able to complete just one dribble successfully, with Mendy standing firm against the former England star.
If United were looking to boost Sancho’s fee this summer, they will have been left disappointed. Instead, he showed a regression into the player who struggled so badly at the Red Devils.
Dortmund pay for missed chances
Dortmund had a number of huge chances in the first-half and will have been kicking themselves for failing to convert any of them. Both Karim Adeyemi and Niclas Fullkrug saw efforts either blocked or hit the post.
They instead headed into half-time with the game still goalless. Madrid continued to struggle to get going after the break, though eventually found their stride, to leave Dortmund lamenting their missed chances.
Familiar faces step up for Madrid
It has been a theme of Real Madrid’s success over the past decade that familiar faces have stepped up at key moments. It was the same again on Saturday night when Carjaval and Vinicius broke down Dortmund’s staunch defence.
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