Champions League Final | Real Madrid win 15th title by beating Borussia Dortmund 2-0

(London) The indestructible Real Madrid won a 15th place on Saturday^e European star in the night in London after a Champions League final where the outsider Borussia Dortmund dominated for a long time, before falling 2-0 at the end.

The Spanish ogre devoured his German prey in pain, but with great patience, repeating a scenario often seen this season, until the “happy ending” dreamed of by his supporters in white jerseys, euphoric at the final whistle.

Thibaut Courtois, the goalkeeper returning from an almost blank season, saved Real several times, jostled as rarely, before the two stabs delivered by Dani Carvajal (74^e1-0) and Vinicius (83^e2-0) behind a conquering Borussia.

“I don’t know what to say, I’m just immensely happy,” Carvajal said. “I knew it would be a difficult match. In the first half, they were very superior, but we stayed alive. I knew our time would come, and it did. »

The outcome may seem cruel for Dortmund, the 1997 European champion, beaten again at Wembley, 11 years after their last European final.

“We showed the whole world that we believed in it, that we were not there to play in a final, but to win it. That’s why it’s so disappointing. We did so many good things. The only difference is that they had this killer instinct, not us,” summarized Edin Terzić to German public television ZDF.

The 41-year-old German coach has cast doubt on the absolute master of the Champions League, the Italian Carlo Ancelotti, at the head of an incredible armada of stars, on the pitch and on the bench.

At kick-off, the “Mister” could count on substitutes stacking 15 titles in total with Luka Modrić (5), Lucas Vázquez (4), David Alaba (2), Dani Ceballos (2), Eder Militão (1) and Kepa (1), just that.

The BVB, fifth in the Bundesliga with a less robust squad, endangered a team that appeared overwhelmed defensively, and uninspired up front, during a first period that ended without the slightest shot on target.

Imperial Courteous

Dortmund pounced on the slightest crumb and set fire to the already boiling corner of its supporters, massed before the break behind Thibaut Courtois.

The Belgian goalkeeper, who barely returned after a season where he hardly played, broke out in a cold sweat in front of Karim Adeyemi, who came to challenge him with a hook (21^e) then a strike (28^e), on a shot from Niclas Füllkrug repelled by a post (23^e) and a rebound shot from Marcel Sabitzer (41^e).

As in 2022, where he was the hero of the previous Madrid final against Liverpool, Courtois disgusted opposing attacks and galvanized his teammates, used to resisting courageously before stinging at the right time.

The opening score offered a summary of Real’s wealth.

Vinicius won a corner with a whimsical dribble over a defender, Toni Kroos hit it perfectly and Carvajal emerged to place his header (74^e1-0) and score only his second goal in C1.

The 32-year-old right-back and his German passer, whose last club match it was, entered the golden book of the major European Cup, which they won for the sixth time. They now share this record with Paco Gento, a Real winger who won six European Champion Clubs’ Cup titles in the 1950s and 1960s.

Brazilian star striker Vinicius, 23, doubled the lead to protect his team and strengthened his chances of a first Ballon d’Or, a trophy now well within his reach.

The eternal Real ends its season with only 2 defeats, a title in the Spanish league and a 15^e Champions League, the 6^e in 11 years.

The Spanish club, which some thought was at the end of its cycle, continues to write history. And Kylian Mbappé has not yet arrived…