Real Madrid’s Champions League excursions have always felt like a high-wire show. How come the Spanish giants don’t slip and fall? But they don’t.
As manager Carlo Ancelotti carried the huge trophy for the sixth time, Real won it for the 15th time, defeating Borussia Dortmund’s brave assault at Wembley Stadium with late goals from Dani Carvajal and Vinicius Jr.
There were several celebrations among the pyrotechnics over the stadium. A familiar play had come to a familiar end.
It is not quite a case of “if you’ve seen one of these victories, you’ve seen them all,” but many of the opponents Real has left broken-hearted in these finals in recent years – Atletico Madrid and Liverpool chief among them – will sympathise with Dortmund’s pain as they walked forlornly in front of their magnificent fans who illuminated Wembley with their colour and made it echo with their noise.
Real limped around in a poor first half performance, rattled by Dortmund’s pace and ferocity, living on their nerves as they managed to reach halftime level.
Karim Adeyemi will ponder if he should have shot instead of attempting to get around Real Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois when clean through, and if he might have done better with another chance that was saved.
Niclas Fullkrug’s shot bounced back off the inside of the post, and the striker was denied by Courtois after the half with a strong header.
And there was always a rising sense that Real would endure and triumph, even when they appeared to be in grave difficulty, as they did against Manchester City in the quarter-finals and Bayern Munich in the last four.
Real is the Champions League’s unstoppable winning machine. And in Ancelotti, they have a coach with the Midas touch leading a team of players who know how to get the job done.
They demonstrated it again 16 minutes later, when Carvajal met Toni Kroos’ corner and glanced a header past keeper Gregor Kobel and defender Mats Hummels, who was tempted to risk a red card to keep the effort out.
The game was over. Vinicius Jr. quickly scored a second to assure Real’s fans could celebrate victory in the competition in which they are the dominant force.
Those of us who have watched Real Madrid’s success in the Champions League throughout the years are now seasoned veterans.
We recall watching them steal a victory from arch-rivals Atletico Madrid with Sergio Ramos’ 93rd-minute equaliser at Lisbon’s Stadium of Light in 2014, going on to win 4-1 and give Ancelotti his first Champions League trophy at the club.
Two years ago in Paris, Courtois delivered one of his most flawless goalkeeping displays, leaving Liverpool’s Mohamed Salah in despair, with Vinicius Jr emerging as the match winner.
The temptation is to label Real Lucky, but this happens too frequently for this to be a valid term. Even though Real’s performance had been poor, a Wembley straw poll of neutrals at half-time would have strongly supported their triumph.
Real may have been terrible for big portions, but they ended up authoring a new chapter in their rich history. So real. So, Carlo Ancelotti.
Throughout it all, the manager stood tall, the masterful facilitator of great players, ironing things out with the assistance of those in his care, including a lengthy touchline talk with Carvajal around halftime.
If he was stressed by Real’s troubles, he didn’t show it – and why should he? He is the most aware of what he has available to him and what they have previously delivered for him. They tried it again.
For the past two decades, the Italian has dominated this competition. Even the two most celebrated coaches of recent years, Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp, have yet to match his track record of success.
It was a night for Real to rejoice while also looking ahead to a bright future, one that will most likely be led by Kylian Mbappe whenever he completes his expected move to the Bernabeu, a scary possibility for those wanting to avoid a 16th triumph next season.
England’s Jude Bellingham may have had a quiet night, especially given his fantastic debut season at Real Madrid, where he has won the Champions League, La Liga, the Spanish Super Cup, and the league’s Player of the Year title.
The 20-year-old failed to make an impact at Wembley, but he did deliver the assist for Vinicius Jr’s second goal, despite missing a fantastic chance himself with the score 1-0.
Bellingham will be the focal point for Real going ahead, and England manager Gareth Southgate will be hoping that a Champions League victory would provide a boost heading into Euro 2024.
It was a farewell to the masterful Kroos, who, along with Carvajal, Nacho, and late substitute Luka Modric, helped Real Madrid win their sixth Champions League title, equaling the tournament record set by Paco Gento.
The latter three are still certain to return to the Bernabeu next season, with added power, since Real Madrid, no matter how they do it, continues to rewrite history.
Who would bet against them, reinforced by Mbappe, returning to win the Champions League in a year?
