The Champions League remained impervious to the surprise European finals of the season which crowned Atalanta Bergamo and Olympiakos in May in the Europa League and its little sister, the Europa Conference League. Real Madrid, as always, as usual, as forever, won it, lifted it and placed it with the fourteen others gleaned in its history. In football, it is possible to face the Spanish club in the final, not to win it.
The first period gave way to an incredible domination of the BVB which also stretched for long periods in the second act. Thibaut Courtois, surprise guest in the final due to Andriy Lunin’s flu, had to suffer in the face of the fury of the German attacks, with an offensive line Karim Adeyemi, Julian Brandt, Niclas Füllkrug unleashed and opportunities in battle.
From the 14th to the 41st, Edin Terzic’s men bludgeoned a lost Real, absent in the fight and the intensity, late on each action with the highlight being Dani Carvajal martyred by Adeyemi. The Spanish full-back will still make an excellent return to the winger (21st) during the Bundesliga club’s best situation.
Only Camavinga was at the same pace as Dortmund
After having “beaten” Diego Simeone in the quarter-final, Luis Enrique in the semi-final, Terzic then gave a tactical lesson to Carlo Ancelotti, the master in the matter. Spoiler: he remains and wins his 6th Champions League. This 2023-2024 edition will have revealed a new technician, with ideas as young as his age – 41 years old. The 5th in the last German championship defends wonderfully well, in the Champions League in any case, with a stainless Mats Hummels at 35 years old and with a considerable impact on recovery, the team is planning to go all out in attack. Only Eduardo Camavinga seemed to follow the rhythm and pace imposed by the BVB before the break.
Anemic, deprived of balls, mainly its attackers, without collective solutions, Real Madrid showed no revolt afterwards, between unconsciousness, helplessness or belief in its star. The White House, so far in this edition and in its history more broadly, has learned so much to endure and reverse situations, showing itself as the champion of Europe and the world of resilient formations, that there is sometimes not to worry about her and that you should always be wary of your one-night adversary.
She will have shown the tip of her nose, with a free kick from Toni Kroos or a volley from Carvajal but it is still Füllkrug with a header who thinks he scores the first goal (63rd). But Courtois, not taken by the Belgians for the Euro for a totally incomprehensible decision, deployed again, recalling his victorious campaign of 2022. Karim Benzema ended up winning the Ballon d’Or and it was deserved but the goalkeeper had been his last bastion.
Unhappy in front of goal despite their collective superiority, Dortmund knew the story, knew that leaving Real Madrid alive shaped the poison they were going to ingest. In a first strong Madrid moment, an impeccable corner from Kroos found the uncrossed header of Carjaval (1-0, 74th) before Vinicius, rather discreet until then, gave a prohibitive advantage for the Germans. The Champions League is until today a competition which is contested between 32 teams and which in the end invariably sees Real Madrid register it in its prize list. Next season, with Kylian Mbappé in addition and despite a new formula, he will be unplayable again.
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