Few teams have faced Real Madrid with as much conviction in the Champions League final as Borussia Dortmund at Wembley Stadium on Saturday night.
But in the end, the result was the same as always.
Despite struggling and defending for the vast majority of the final, clinging to life at times, Real Madrid will leave London with a record-extended 15th European Cup after late goals from Dani Carvajal and Vinicius Júnior gave Los Blancos a 2-0 win. and broke Dortmund’s heart.
It was a particularly cruel end for Dortmund defender Ian Maatsen, who needlessly put a corner on Carvajal’s header and gifted Real possession for Vinícius’ goal a few minutes later.
After a night full of hard work, Real once again celebrated full time in the Champions League final, the fans serenaded in white to celebrate their invincible team.
Real have been unbeaten in a European Cup final since losing 1-0 to Liverpool in 1981, a run of nine consecutive victories that has now spanned 43 years and taken the club’s total to 15 – more than double that of second-placed AC . Milan got busy.
Dortmund rues missed chances
The mood in the stadium was definitely different before kick-off. The famous “Yellow Wall” sounded in a soft voice almost an hour before the start of the game, transplanted brick by brick, fan by fan from Dortmund to Wembley without missing a break.
Feeling that the Dortmund fans were drowning out the Real Madrid end, Vinícius quickly swung his fist towards the white-clad fans to elicit a thunderous roar from them.
However, that burst aside, it was the Dortmund fans who made all the noise in the opening 10 minutes; their relentless, deafening chants fill the gloomy London skies above Wembley Stadium.
There can be few sights in football more intimidating than facing Real Madrid in the Champions League final.
But Dortmund were initially brave. Edin Terzić’s side fearlessly passed the ball from the back, although a couple of particularly risky balls almost ensured Real possession.
It was slick passing by the team that created the first real chance of the final, but Julian Brandt got the ball at his feet and curled his shot menacingly wide with only Thibaut Courtois to beat in the box.
The move sparked a flurry of chances for Dortmund.
Niclas Füllkrug’s header from close range was saved and hit the post before rolling unhappily over the goal line, while Karim Adeyemi had two great one-on-one opportunities but failed to convert either.
Even though hope was all but gone as the seconds of stoppage time ticked away – faced by thousands of jumping, boisterous Real fans – Dortmund supporters defiantly raised their scarves and continued to sing.
They thought they finally got a moment for belated celebration when Füllkrug found the back of the net, but they were denied that too as the goal was ruled out for offside.
“Campeones, campeones olé, olé, olé,” chanted from the Real fans as Carvajal waited to lift the trophy above his head.
It will be a sleepless night for both sets of players and fans, but for very different reasons.
