Borussia only had enough for the first half
The European Cup returns to Madrid. The wise Carlo Ancelotti beat his young colleague Edin Terzic. And the Madrid team beat Borussia in class.
Lots of noise and nothing
Real, rightly favoured, immediately took the initiative and with it the ball. But the territorial advantage has not brought any dividend to the people of Madrid. On the contrary, there were dangerous moments on Thibaut Courtois’ goal. First, Julian Brandt shot inaccurately into the far corner after a discount from Niklas Füllkrug. Then Karim Adeyemi struck from a tight angle and Courtois came to the rescue. However, the Belgian, who returned to the “royal club” goal, remained helpless after Füllkrug’s shot, but the ball “kissed” the post. Then Courtois saved Adeyemi’s shot in front of him, Füllkrug tried to finish and missed the target. Real Madrid were frankly lucky.
And the advantage of the Madrid team somehow disappeared. And Borussia moved from defense to attack very well. Why beat Eduardo Camavinga or Toni Kroos if you can cut them off with a long pass? This is what Edin Terzic’s team did. And although the score was not opened before the break, the first half remained with Borussia.
And Real Madrid? Yes, practically nothing. Carlo Ancelotti decided that the weak link of the “black and gold” defense was the left flank of the defense, for which Jan Maatsen was responsible, so most of the “creamy” attacks passed through the Dutchman’s area of responsibility . All Real managed to field was central defender Nico Schlotterbeck and defensive midfielder Marcel Sabitzer. Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel was out of action for the first 45 minutes. The Swiss was only caught on camera after Vinicius hit him. Slovenian judge Slavko Vincic assessed the Brazilian’s ram with a yellow card.
The awakening of Real Madrid
The second half begins with a dangerous free kick from Toni Kroos. Kobel, who missed work, hit the ball into the corner. After the serve, Daniel Carvajal shot inaccurately. Real Madrid have made it clear that in the second half they will no longer be as herbivorous as before the break. But Borussia immediately presented counterarguments in the form of two corners.
Speeds increased. Real Madrid woke up Rodrigo, who began to torment the Dortmund defense and provoke Schlotterbeck with the second yellow card. After a cross, Carvajal strikes from the left flank. I didn’t hit the target, but I caused fear. But Adeyemi forced Courtois into play. Thibault demonstrated that during the forced break he had not lost his skill.
Jude Bellingham made his presence known twice in one minute. First with an intensifying pass, then with a dangerous moment on goal. But the Englishman, in the fight with Kobel, was unable to close the relationship.
Royce’s premature exit
In the 72nd minute Marco Reus, who had turned 35 the day before, entered the field. A big fan of the goal against Real Madrid, he came out in his last match with Borussia. The veteran’s exit, as it turned out, was premature. And then the first ball hit the Dortmund goal. After a corner from Kroos, Carvajal wins Füllkrug’s action and slots the ball into the far corner from Kobel. So Real Madrid took the lead in 15 minutes.
The people of Madrid have tasted blood. And Borussia, on the contrary, “floated”. Like a boxer who stood in the ring for several rounds, but missed a strong blow. After a couple of minutes, Bellnham managed to remove all questions, but Schlotterbeck somehow incomprehensibly prevented Jude from upsetting his former team. Kroos and Camavinga then forced Kobel to demonstrate his abilities. Borussia is in a sort of prostration. Nacho strikes dangerously and once again Kobel saves. But Gregor is helpless against Vinisus’ shot, who takes advantage of Maatsen’s mistake and launches the shot past the goalkeeper.
To Borussia’s credit, they didn’t raise the white flag. Niklas Füllkrug headed the ball into Courtois’ goal, but even before that the side referee’s flag appeared in the air: offside. This was Dortmund’s last chance to make a difference. In the remaining minutes, Real calmly repelled all the attacks of the “black and gold” and brought the match to victory with the score 2:0.
In pursuit
Real Madrid has become the strongest club in Europe for the fifteenth time. After a two-year break, Real Madrid regained the title of continental club champion. Carlo Ancelotti won the Champions League for the sixth time, the fifth as a coach and the third with Real Madrid. A unique result from an Italian specialist. Luka Modric, Real Madrid captain Nacho and winning goal scorer Dani Carvajal won the coveted trophy for the sixth time.
This victory at Wembley can be called a coaching victory. The wise Ancelotti beat his young colleague Terzic. The “royal club”‘s unattractive first half misled Borussia. He felt the same. It looked like Dortmund were about to achieve their goal. But at a certain point Real Madrid’s spring opened and hit the opponent painfully on the nose. Borussia could no longer change the fate of the matches. They wouldn’t let him.
Dani Carvajal was recognized as the best player of the final. And not just for the winning goal. The right back played an exemplary game and did an excellent defensive job. And the goal, atypical for Dani, became the highlight of the Wembley match.
Borussia, despite the defeat, deserved only kind words. Dortmund reaching the final is already a success. The Nerooro looked very good before the break, as well as in the second half before the goal conceded. And it is not known what the final score would have been if Terzic’s team had scored at least one point in the first half.
