Bayern continued to believe they would go to Wembley until the 88th minute of the second leg of their Champions League semi-final at the Bernabeu. In the second leg of their quarterfinal match, City had 33 shots, but they lost due to penalties.
They’ll be haunted by two opportunities in particular. Karim Adeyemi attempted to avoid Thibaut Courtois, but that simply made the opportunity more challenging. The goalie was defeated by Niclas Fullkrug, but not at his far post. For three minutes, history was happening all around them.
It is an odd sensation when every Dortmund near-miss reinforces the belief that Real Madrid will prevail. They now possess such a firm grasp on this trophy and such control over the psyche. Champions for the sixteenth time in Europe.
Not a single club has won the award even half as frequently. In their entire existence, only AC Milan has won it more often than they have in the past ten years alone. Dortmund will be disappointed with how they finished. However, Madrid was the one who ensured that they would. For extended stretches, they gave off the impression of being lethargic, with Dortmund’s early initiative creating gaps in the Madrid defense. Other teams would have been rattled by it. Even yet, it’s unlikely that their belief was undermined by their concession. Dortmund’s inability to prove decisive.
It’s been said that championship games are meant to be won, not played, and this Madrid side has enough seasoned winners to keep their eyes on the goal even under increasing pressure. It felt especially appropriate that Dani Carvajal was named player of the match.
The legend around Paco Gento’s six European Cup victories seemed unattainable as 25 years went by without a team winning the cup. This Real Madrid team now has four players who have six titles. Two got together to score the first goal. In the last club match of his career, Toni Kroos crossed the ball for Carvajal to score. It has been nine years since the 32-year-old full-back scored in this competition. However, But this group of players have a habit of picking their moments.
Think about Courtois. He had made four appearances (and four clean sheets) since returning from a significant knee injury, but this was his first Champions League game of the season. Once again, he was flawless and unrivaled. Jude Bellingham labored during a significant portion of the game, his strained muscles suggesting that he wasn’t at 100% fitness. But before he could even stop himself from crying with happiness, he assisted on the second goal. This was the greatest night of his young life, he would later say.
He may already be the greatest football export from England at the age of 20, having won the Champions League in his first season of all debuts and been named player of the year in Germany and Spain. Naturally, having Vinicius Junior around is beneficial. In the 2022 final matchup with Liverpool, the Brazilian scored the game’s lone goal. Here, all hopes of a Dortmund comeback were dashed by his second. He was not at his best, like Bellingham, but he was merciless. “The momentum turned around and you see why they are champions,” Terzic remarked.
Accepting the applause of the audience, both were replaced before the end. With Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo gone from the European football scene, the two are now among the game’s greatest heroes. Vinicius is undoubtedly beckoned by the Ballon d’Or. One was already won by Luka Modric. At 38 years old, he made history by being the oldest player to play in a Champions League final since Paolo Maldini and Milan won the title in 2007. The Milan manager on that day seventeen years ago? By Carlo Ancelotti, naturally. What more can be said about a coach whose modest demeanor persists in contrast to his enormous achievements? He has already won this trophy seven times—twice as a player and a record-tying five times as a manager—and he never seems to be able to give up.
