Real Madrid were favourites to win their 15th Champions League title when they met Dortmund at Wembley, but Carlo Ancelotti's side struggled against their German opponents.
Karim Adeyemi missed two good chances to open the scoring for Dortmund in the first half.
The biggest surprise in Real Madrid's starting lineup was the introduction of veteran goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois in place of Andriy Lunin. It was the Belgian goalkeeper who saved the Spanish champions in the first half.
Despite not having much possession, Dortmund showed why they overcame title contenders Atletico Madrid and PSG on their way to the final. "Knowing yourself and your opponent", coach Edin Terzic arranged a reasonable style of play by proactively playing a low formation and suddenly accelerating on the attack.
Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois' talent helped Real Madrid escape defeat in the first half.
Dortmund's tactics left Real Madrid's attacking stars like Vinicius Junior and Jude Bellingham with little space and they were largely absent in the first 45 minutes. The German team's pressing and aggressive midfield also limited the lethal passes of Toni Kroos, who played his final match for the "White Vultures". Even if they had been more precise and without the talent of goalkeeper Courtois, Dortmund would have opened the scoring after three good chances from Karim Adeyemi and Marcel Sabitzer.
Real Madrid's attack remained deadlocked in the first half of the second half and their brightest star was still goalkeeper Courtois with a save from Niclas Fullkrug's header. But in the end, coach Ancelotti's team showed the same spirit as they have shown when overcoming Man City and Bayern Munich to reach the final.
Carvajal (left) opened the scoring for Real Madrid
Despite their lack of clarity in their passing, the Spanish champions still opened the scoring in the 75th minute after a corner kick. Defender Dani Carvajal was the one to score with a high header past goalkeeper Gregor Kobel.
The goal was the turning point of the game and relieved the pressure on Ancelotti's side. It forced Dortmund to push forward and gave Real Madrid's attacking stars more space, before Vinicius doubled their hopes in the 83rd minute.
Toni Kroos has a sweet farewell to Real Madrid
With this victory, Real Madrid continued to increase the record of winning the top European tournament to 15 times. They closed the 2023 - 2024 season with a double title after winning La Liga. It was also a complete farewell for Toni Kroos after 3 times contributing to Real Madrid's achievement of winning the Champion League 3 times in a row in the 2015 - 2016, 2016 - 2017 and 2017 - 2018 seasons. Meanwhile, coach Ancelotti continued to become the coach with the most Champions League titles with 5 crowns.
On the contrary, Dortmund can only blame themselves for missing out on good chances in the final. The defeat also brought regret to Marco Reus in his last match in Dortmund's shirt. 11 years ago, Marco Reus and the yellow-black team entered the Champion League final at Wembley Stadium and lost to Bayern Munich.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/real-madrid-choi-cuc-hay-danh-bai-dortmund-xung-dang-gianh-chuc-vo-dich-champions-league-185240602040219808.htm
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