Real Madrid wins the Champions League: landmark victory over Borussia Dortmund shows why they are the kings of Europe | Football News

Borussia Dortmund must be wondering how this happened, but just ask Bayern Munich. Manchester City can also offer a sympathetic ear. The defeated finalists are just the latest to be hit by this Real Madrid team.

Bayern arrived in the 88th minute of the Champions League semi-final second leg at the Bernabéu still believing they were heading to Wembley. City took 33 shots in the quarter-final second leg but still succumbed on penalties.

For Dortmund, the moment came and went during the first 45 minutes of this Champions League final. Edin Terzic’s team took seven of their eight shots from inside the box. “We couldn’t score,” Terzic said afterwards. “That’s the key.”

Two opportunities, in particular, will haunt them. Karim Adeyemi tried to get around Thibaut Courtois, but that only made the opportunity more difficult. Niclas Fullkrug beat the goalkeeper but not the far post. It was three minutes in which the story passed them by.

It’s a strange feeling when every Dortmund near-miss only increases the conviction that Real Madrid will win. Such is the hold they have over the mind, such is the hold they now have over this trophy. Champions of Europe for the fifteenth time.

No other club has lifted the trophy even half the time. Only AC Milan, in its entire history, has won more times than in the last decade alone. Dortmund will regret their finish. But it was Madrid who guaranteed that it would.

They looked passive for long periods, with Dortmund’s early initiative opening up opportunities in the Real Madrid defense. This would have unnerved other teams. But it is unlikely that even the concession undermined his belief. That Dortmund could not be decisive.

They say finals should be won, not played, and there are enough winners in this Madrid team to keep their focus on the prize, even when the pressure mounts. The fact that Dani Carvajal walked away with the man of the match award seemed particularly appropriate.

Paco Gento’s six European Champion Clubs’ Cup victories were legendary, a mythical total seemingly unattainable when a quarter of a century had passed without a team retaining this trophy. There is now four Players from this Real Madrid squad have already won six times.

Two combined for the opening goal. Toni Kroos, in the last game of his career for the club, crossed for Carvajal to head. The 32-year-old full-back last scored in this competition nine years ago. But this group of players has a habit of choosing their moments.

Consider Courtois. This was his first Champions League appearance of the season, returning to the spotlight after four appearances – and four clean sheets – since recovering from a serious knee injury. He was flawless and unbeatable again.

Jude Bellingham worked hard for much of the match, the muscle stretches indicating he was not fully fit. But he assisted the second goal, falling to the ground in tears of joy. He would say this was the best night of his young life.

At 20, he can already be considered English football’s greatest export, player of the year in Germany and Spain, and now winner of the Champions League after his debut season of all debut seasons. It helps, of course, that Vinicius Junior is there for company.

The Brazilian scored the only goal in the 2022 final against Liverpool. Here, his second ended any hope of Dortmund’s recovery. Like Bellingham, he wasn’t at his best, but he was relentless. “The momentum has changed and you see why they are champions,” Terzic said.

Both were substituted before the end, accepting the adulation of the crowd. The pair are among the first heroes now in a European football landscape devoid of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. The Ballon d’Or certainly beckons for Vinicius.

Luka Modric had already won one. Here, at 38, he became the oldest man to appear in a Champions League final since Paolo Maldini won the competition with Milan in 2007. Milan’s manager that day, 17 years ago? Carlo Ancelotti, of course.

What’s left to say about a coach whose low-key style remains at odds with his great accomplishments? Now a seven-time winner of this trophy, twice as a player and an independent record five times as a coach, he continues to find a way.

A team of winners led by the ultimate victor? An intervention was necessary this time. A subtle tactical adjustment at half-time was enough to help change the momentum of the match for him. “At the end of the first half we were quite calm,” said Ancelotti.

“I didn’t need to be angry. I needed to clarify a few things. It was clear how Dortmund wanted to play. We lost our balance and had to manage their transitions better. We thought changing the system would be better for us, with more players in midfield .”

A set-piece goal here and a lost Dortmund pass there were enough for him to get another final. The result is that Sir Alex Ferguson remains the last manager to defeat Real Madrid in a European final – with Aberdeen more than 40 years ago.

Terzic fell short, his Dortmund team fell short. Their fans displayed a banner before the start of the game. It said, “We’re back in town to steal the crown.” But the kings of Europe resist and Real Madrid’s place on the throne has never been clearer.