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5 months ago
45 ARTICLE AD
The final scoreline read Borussia Dortmund 0 Real Madrid 2.
An excellent Champions League final, far more entertaining than most we have seen in recent years.
Most of the credit for that goes to the Bundesliga side.
Anybody who automatically expected that this would be simply a game where Dortmund would spend the vast majority of the match desperately clinging on with a packed defence, were badly mistaken.
Whilst Real Madrid may have edged possession in the first half, all the quality play and danger came from the German side.
Sadly, they will be waking up on Sunday wondering just how they didn’t win this match, as they should have been in a commanding lead by the break.
Karim Adeyemi has pace to burn and timed his runs to perfection, only to fail badly with two massive first-half chances.
Dortmund striker Niclas Fullkrug hit the post.
Whilst Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois was excellent.
Borussia Dortmund won corner after corner and their open play regularly opened the Spanish side up, whilst at the other end Real Madrid contributed nothing.
As always, you fear for the underdog in these circumstances, where they surprise everybody but fail to take advantage of so much attacking threat.
After the break, Real Madrid came more into it for a quite even game, though when the key goal came it wasn’t from their usual clever pacey football.
Instead, a bog standard corner was delivered from the left on 74 minutes and Dani Carvajal glancing a header across the German keeper and into the far side of the goal.
Then in the closing stages, a tired and deflated Dortmund side gifted possession in a dangerous area and seconds later Vinicius Jr ran on to score from Jude Bellingham’s pass.
Borussia Dortmund thought they’d pulled one back late on, only for offside to rule it out.
Late on Carlo Ancelotti made a host of changes to wind the game down and amongst those coming off the bench, Newcastle United striker Joselu completing a stellar club season as he helped Real Madrid see the final to its conclusion.
Joselu has now added a Champions League winners medal to his La Liga one, as he heads into the European Championships with Spain.
Just over nine months ago, Borussia Dortmund were made the complete outsiders to get out of the Group of Death.
The German side showing that just how far you can go with a team of really good players, even if they’re not superstars, if you attack and defend as a team and never give less than 100%. They were the better team at Wembley and simply didn’t take their chances.

 
