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| Vinicius Jr celebrates after rounding off scoring in Real Madrid's 2-0 win over Borussia Dortmund at Wembley on Saturday in the UEFA Champions League final. (Photo credit: Sky Sports) |
Real Madrid's season concluded with a flawless scorecard, successfully overcoming adversity to emerge as 2-0 winners over Borussia Dortmund.
It’s a vintage Real Madrid performance: play badly in patches and somehow find creative ways to punish your opponents’ mistakes. The likes of Karim Adeyemi and Niclas Fullkrug will look into the mirror and rue the opportunities they missed before they went out of their hands.
In all honesty, bookmakers and everyone who knows football knew it was only going one way, but the Black and Yellow Wall dominated the opening exchanges, forcing the football powerhouse to defend deep throughout the first half.
When the lads filed out at Wembley, most people expected the game to be wrapped up by halftime, but they were forced to sit at the edge of their seats as Borussia Dortmund continued to create promising chances. Had they taken any, headlines would have been written differently on Sunday.
For Toni Kroos and Marco Reus, who announced his complete retirement from the game weeks ago, it was a momentous occasion.
"[Dortmund] played better than us and had more chances than us, but they let us get away with 0-0 at halftime," Ancelotti said. "In the second half, we had more balance, played better, and managed to win the game." This season, I believe we faced numerous challenges. We lost quality players and had to replace their ability with commitment.
"You need both sacrifice and quality to win the Champions League, but this win makes me very satisfied because we never give up and always fight until the end." So, I'd rate us 10 out of 10 this season. This season has been 10/10. "My players have been fantastic."
Dani Carvajal rose the highest to head home from a Kroos corner to give Real Madrid the lead in the 74th minute, before Vinicius Jr. ended the contest with a trademark finish seven minutes from time. It was Real Madrid’s fifteenth Champions League title and Carlo Ancelotti’s fifth.
It was a night that confirmed the Los Blancos’ status as the best on the continent. With Carlo Ancelotti now eyeing a sixteenth UCL trophy, you can’t stop him from dreaming, and with Kyllian Mbappe on his way to Madrid, everyone must be afraid.