Real Madrid won a 15th Champions League title after withstanding a hugely impressive Borussia Dortmund performance to triumph at Wembley thanks to late goals from Dani Carvajal and Vinicius Junior.
The game was held up less than a minute in as three people trespassed onto the pitch and approached players leading to questions over security measures inside a ground where there was significant trouble at the European Championships final in 2021.
Dortmund should have been ahead in the first half-hour: Julian Brandt shot wide after 13 minutes, then Karim Adeyemi rounded Thibaut Courtois but drifted too far wide of the goal to score before Niclas Fullkrug hit the inside of the post soon after, though he may have been offside.
Madrid were struggling to live with Dortmund’s pace on the break and Vinicius Jr was booked for a foul on Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel before winning a free kick soon after that former Madrid coach Jose Mourinho said on TNT Sport was “a dive” and could have seen him sent off for a second yellow card.
Carvajal had a shot blocked and Jude Bellingham narrowly failed to connect on a header as Madrid threatened. But with 17 minutes to go, they took the lead with Carvajal heading in a corner before Vinicius Jr won the game.
Here The Athletic’s writers analyse the final.
Are Real Madrid… inevitable?
We had all seen this movie before: Real Madrid pitch up in a Champions League final, stumble out of the blocks, seem to be there for the taking, ride their luck… but still prevail. It happened against Atletico Madrid in 2014 and Liverpool 2022 (and to a lesser extent in 2018). As one Dortmund chance after another went begging in the first half, you just knew how this was going to end.
It isn’t just finals. There have been some big Champions League games in recent years in which Madrid have appeared to be pinned up against the ropes, but the knockout blow never comes and then, emboldened, they eventually rise to the occasion.
Is it a mentality thing? Or is it just that, ultimately, their superior class and individual quality will tell? Surely it is both.
But the worrying thing for the rest of Europe is that so many of the legends who defined the Madrid team of the 2010s have now moved on… and though the cast changes, the storyline does not. They have won their last nine European Cup finals. That is extraordinary.
Oliver Kay
How unlikely a hero is Carvajal?
After struggling to make an impact on the game for so long, Madrid needed someone to step up and grab a hold of the proceedings.
Not many would have picked out their right-back, but Dani Carvajal was the unlikely hero who turned the game their way.
Even before his goal, Carvajal had already shown a determination to make something happen. He had one chance at a corner soon after half-time, and near the hour mark arrived unmarked at the back post but could not get enough power in his shot.
The 32-year-old was not to be denied though — rising superbly to power home another Toni Kroos corner, despite Mats Hummels’ attempts to handball on the line.
It was a surprise scorer, but maybe should not have been. Finally free of injuries which have dogged him through recent seasons, Carvajal already had five goals and five assists in all competitions this season. He is also a hugely important character in the dressing room, setting standards and demanding intensity, along with fellow long-serving homegrown players Nacho and Lucas Vazquez.
It was not Carvajal’s first historic moment. Soon after joining Madrid’s youth system as a 10-year-old, he was selected to join legendary Alfredo Di Stefano in laying the first stone at the club’s Valdebebas training facility. More than two decades later, as he won his sixth Champions League medal, Carvajal confirmed his place alongside Di Stefano as a Blancos legend.
Dermot Corrigan
Did Dortmund waste their dominance?
If you looked at any prediction models or betting odds, you would have seen that Madrid were the obvious favourites — not just to win the final but to be the dominant side across the game.
But just as Dortmund have done in Europe all season, Edin Terzic’s side ensured that the narrative did not follow the direction that many expected during the first half of Wembley’s final.
Tactically, Dortmund’s build-up was of little surprise. Emre Can would drop in between his two centre-backs to form a situational back three, while Ian Maatsen would tuck in from left-back to provide options in midfield alongside Marcel Sabitzer. What was surprising was the ease with which they could do so, as Dortmund grew into the game in a thrilling first half.
Excluding blocks, Dortmund had seven shots in the first half — only once had they generated more in the Champions League all season. Their expected-goals (xG) value of 1.68 was the biggest by a team in the first half of a Champions League final on record (since 2013-14). This was not an underdog performance but a bolshy display that was in keeping with their European story this season.
Karim Adeyemi’s running in behind was a key theme, as he was twice found with a through ball inside full-back Carvajal to bear down on goal.
Dortmund were lively, but helped by a passive performance in the first half from Madrid. If you play a high line and don’t put pressure on the ball, you can expect to get punished with passes played in behind.
Adeyemi is one on one with Thibaut Courtois, above, but finds himself too wide to finish, below
Dortmund’s confidence grew and so did the aggression. As the game opened up, Terzic’s side would hound Madrid to regain the ball when possession broke down, channelling the energy of the crowd to catalyse another wave of attack.
Dortmund’s performance was strong — arguably the strongest of the season — but Madrid have a narrative of their own. One that sees them regularly underperform but still come out on top as the final reflected their whole European campaign.
Mark Carey
How did Vinicius Jr prove his worth?
For a long time on Saturday night, it seemed as if Vinicius Jr’s biggest moments were without the ball.
The Brazilian met Jay-Z (who he knows from their shared agency) at Wembley pre-game, then controlled his smile when a pitch-invader was somehow allowed the time to pose for a selfie with him on the turf.
The rest of the first half was frustrating: getting booked for catching Dortmund ’keeper Kobel late, getting outrun by Hummels, and getting away with an apparent dive which some argued should have cost him a second yellow. He had zero shots or chances in the first 45 minutes, won just six of 13 duels, and lost possession 10 times (the joint-most of any player).
But Vinicius is made of stern stuff, and soon turned things around. Soon after half-time, it was his driving run which forced the free kick from which Kroos hit Madrid’s first shot on target. The Brazilian kept getting on the ball and sprinting past his marker Julian Ryerson, and his cross was inches away from being converted by Bellingham for 1-0.
After Carvajal had scored for Madrid, Vinicius’ moment did come. With Dortmund’s defence scattered, he held his position to receive Bellingham’s pass, then kept his cool to carefully lift the ball to the net for his team’s second goal.
Two Champions League finals, two victories, and two goals for Vini now. His night did not start that great, but it ended in triumph. In the end, none of Dortmund’s pressure or the chances they created will matter.
Nobody recalls any of the other teams that Real have upended, do they?
Dermot Corrigan
Have Dortmund played like this all season?
Where has this Dortmund been?
At their worst during the Bundesliga season, they were almost unwatchable — playing slow, unimaginative football of limited ambition. That they finished fifth describes just how far below their best they have often been. But the word most often used to describe them? Boring. And historically, that is something that Dortmund have never been, whatever their limitations.
The tenor of the performance at Wembley was completely different. In fact, the biggest compliment Terzic’s side could be paid is that, for that first 45 minutes they played with the heart of a Jurgen Klopp team. Dortmund were relentless in how they hassled Madrid high up the pitch, but also deeply impressive with the ball. Again, that has not often been the case. Some of their best moments came from quick, incisive moves which sucked their opponents into the middle of the pitch, before possession was splayed out wide, into space and to the feet of Adeyemi or Jadon Sancho.
It’s not original to contrast Dortmund’s domestic and European form, but this was a level beyond anything they had produced before. It was football of a quality befitting the occasion. Football that nobody thought them to be capable of.
Ultimately, it was not enough. Madrid, as has so often been the case, found goals in the game’s dark alleys. But this was still a Dortmund performance affecting verve and life.
Sebastian Stafford-Bloor
Why was the match delayed?
Tonight’s final, the showpiece of the European club game, was the biggest men’s match at the national stadium since England’s penalty shootout defeat to Italy that turned into a “day of national shame” with 19 police officers injured and more than 50 arrests.
In the aftermath, an independent review published by Baroness Louise Casey said it was a miracle nobody died that day and while nothing so serious materialised on Saturday evening, the opening of the game was still deeply embarrassing for the organisers as three separate pitch invasions by individuals delayed the start.
The Metropolitan Police later confirmed officers had made 53 arrests including five for the pitch invasion and “the majority of others for attempts to breach security”.
The game had barely begun when three spectators evaded security to get onto the pitch. The appeared to seek photographs with Vinicius Jr and Bellingham of Madrid before being taken from the field with security — and players including Dortmund’s Marcel Sabitzer — stepping in.
A pitch invader tries to take a selfie with Vinicius Jr (Photo: Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
The match was then restarted after a short disruption of around two minutes.
A Wembley Stadium spokesperson said on X: “It is illegal to enter the field of play at Wembley Stadium, and we strongly condemn the actions of those who interrupted the UEFA Champions League Final shortly after kick-off.
“All of the individuals have now been arrested. We will support the relevant authorities to ensure appropriate action is taken.”
The opening stages of the second half also took place with smoke drifting across the field after a large pyro display by Dortmund supporters.
How will next season’s Champions League work?
The number of teams competing will increase from 32 to 36, meaning there will be 189 matches instead of 125, and the group stage will be replaced by a league phase — otherwise known as the “Swiss model”.
Each team will be guaranteed to play eight matches in the league phase — down from the proposed 10 after talks in Vienna — of which they will play half at home and half away.
The top eight sides in the league will qualify for the knockout stage. Those finishing in ninth to 24th will compete in two-legged play-offs to determine who joins the top eight in the last-16.
You can read more about it here.
What did Edin Terzic say?
“Quite hard to find the right words. I have quite a chaos of emotions. Quite proud, but also disappointed and empty so it’s difficult for me to think about the last 12 months and analyse that period, but I do think we’ve had a season with a lot of ups and downs,” he said.
“We’ve talked a lot about the season, had too many changes in games that didn’t go our way, but today is perfect example of what we can achieve with this team and we just have to try to be more consistent. We don’t want to make a difference between the different competitions. We only want to differentiate between winning and losing and we didn’t manage to do that as often as we wanted.”
What did Carlo Ancelotti say?
“It seems a dream but it is reality. Really happy for sure. Really difficult game as usual, they played better first half, we played better second half, but a final is always like this. We were able to win, a fantastic season and we are really happy to be able to win the cup again,” he said to TNT.
“It is the history and tradition of the club, of course the quality of the players, the club is a family, we work altogether without problems and the atmosphere is really good in the dressing room. I need to thank the club and the players, no big egos, really humble, it was not difficult to manage the squad this season.
“I don’t know what we are going to do, but for sure we are not going to sleep.”
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(Top photo: Ina Fassbender/AFP via Getty Images)
