Real Madrid secured their 15th Champions League as they beat Borussia Dortmund 2-0 in this season’s final at Wembley on Saturday night.
Carlo Ancelotti’s men certainly didn’t have it all their own way under the arch, but they just about held off Dortmund’s stellar opening-hour performance to win the big one.
Dani Carvajal was the unlikely opening goalscorer before Vinicius Junior made the most of a Dortmund error in build-up to double Madrid’s lead and seal yet another Champions League trophy.
How the game unfolded
Projections of a one-sided final were woefully misguided as Borussia Dortmund started Saturday’s final with immense confidence. Edin Terzic’s side were initially happy to cede control to their superior hosts, with their stout 4-4-2 mid-block not allowing Madrid to settle.
The favoured Spaniards failed to gain any momentum against their aggressive opponents, who were doubtlessly the better side in the opening 45 minutes. Dortmund limited Madrid to mere potshots from distance, while BVB created several golden opportunities of their own.
They took advantage of Madrid’s flawed out-of-possession structure and were able to penetrate in behind their backline at will. Karim Adeyemi had particular joy, but he and Niclas Fullkrug were unable to make the most of their chances and the two sides entered the break at 0-0 with Madrid failing to lay a glove on the Germans.
There was no chance of Madrid matching their first half insipidity after the restart, and they certainly got a foothold in proceedings at the start of the second half. Gregor Kobel was finally worked, with Madrid’s right-hand side coming to life.
Carlo Ancelotti’s seasoned outfit were always in the game at 0-0, and there was a cruel inevitability over the final outcome as Dortmund failed to make the most of their early superiority. Madrid stalwart Carvajal opened the scoring with a fine header from a Kroos in-swinger, and the Spaniards were dominant thereafter.
Vinicius added a second in the closing stages, and despite Niclas Fullkrug having a goal ruled out, Madrid were able to see out Saturday’s final without much hassle.
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