UCL Final: Real Madrid clinch 15th Champions League title after 2nd half turnaround

Real Madrid turned the tables in the second half against Borussia Dortmund to seal their record-extending 15th UEFA Champions League title in Wembley on June 1, Saturday.

Dani Carvajal and Vinicius Jr were the stars of the show for Los Blancos as they won the final 2-0 to break Dortmund, who were sensational in the first half but were left to rue their misses.

The German side were the better team in the first half, having dominated the game and had Real Madrid on the ropes. But Carlo Ancelotti’s men turned on the heat in the second half, which eventually broke the resilience of Dortmund. This meant that Toni Kroos ended up leaving Real Madrid with his 6th Champions League title as Los Blancos completed a double this season, having won the LaLiga in grand fashion.

Carvajal had scored in the 74th minute before Vinicius Jr. put the game beyond doubt 9 minutes later as the Wembley nightmare continued for Dortmund in UCL finals, having been beaten by Bayern Munich in 2013 at the same venue.

Dortmund bosses 1st half
The match started with the stadium buzzing as the yellow wall from Dortmund being a bit more vocal than the Madrid faithful. Dortmund started on the front foot and got a corner in the 6th minute but the danger was thwarted by the Madrid defence.

Fede Valverde got the first shot for Madrid in the 12th minute with a wild swing that went well over. Dortmund had the first big chance of the night when a clever ball over the top found Fullkrug onside and he set it up for Julian Brandt. However, the forward’s final shot went well wide. But the warning was sent to Los Blancos and Ancelotti.

The Real Madrid defence was cut open once again in the 21st minute as Adeyemi went straight through and had gone past Courtois. However, the Dortmund forward fluffed his chance and Los Blancos were given another stern warning.

Dortmund kept on attacking and Fullkrug was the latest to go so close to scoring in the 23rd minute as the German striker hit the post but the ball bounced back to Madrid. However, the replay showed that the Dortmund man could have been offside in the end.

Vinicius Jr. created a great chance as he set up a ball into the box but was thwarted by the Dortmund defence. However, it was end to end stuff by then as Adeyemi had a shot parried by Courtois and it fell to Fullkrug, whose header went straight back to the Madrid keeper.

Los Blancos was clearly struggling to hit the top gear in the game, with Dortmund dominating the stats. Sabitzer tested Courtois with a long-range shot from outside the box with less than 5 minutes left in the first half.

Dortmund’s success in the first half came with the fact that they kept Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Jr. quiet throughout the proceedings.

Real Madrid turn things around
The second half started with Dortmund still on top of things and attacking as they got a corner early on. But Vinicius Jr. was able to come away with the ball and got a freekick. Kroos took aim and unleashed a fine shot which was saved by Kobel and the resulting corner saw Carvajal head wide.

Dortmund kept piling the pressure and the corner count for them started going up once again but Madrid kept thwarting away the danger.

Real Madrid found themselves in the ascendcy for a bit with Carvajal unleashing a shot inside the box, which was saved by Kobel. In the other end, Courtois was made to work again as Fullkrug’s header was on target and had to be saved.

Vinicius Jr. almost unlocked the Dortmund with a fine ball into the box in the 69th minute, which almost caught Kobel off guard as the ball went just above the on rushing Bellingham.

Marco Reus, playing his final game for Dortmund, was brought in the 72nd minute of the game but it was Madrid was the one who got the lead in the 74th minute.

A corner was the undoing for Dortmund as Carvajal got the header perfectly and guided it into the net, sending the Madrid fans into raptures. Bellingham would then have the chance to make it 2-0. The ball was saved well by Camavinga, who put it on a plate for the Englishman.

His shot was then deflected by Scholtterbeck in the nick of time to ensure things remained 1-0. Kobel was then called into action twice, first from a freekick by Kroos and then a perfect shot from Camavinga in the 82nd minute.

He was called into action yet as he had to save a header from Nacho next to keep his side in the hunt. But a mistake from Maatsen would allow Real Madrid get the second goal . The man on loan from Chelsea gave the ball to Bellingham, who set up Vinicius Jr., who made no mistake in the end.

Dortmund thought they had pulled one back in the 88th minute, but Fullkrug’s goal was ruled out for offside. Madrid ensured they held on to the lead with the defensive grit they showed throughout the game as Ancelotti won his 5th Champions League title.