Real Madrid beat Dortmund in Champions League final at Wembley
Spanish giants win competition for record 15th time
Carvajal & Vinicius Jr score for Real in second half
Kroos sets up first on final club appearance before Bellingham gets assist for second
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid (20:00 BST)
Image source, Rex FeaturesIf Borussia Dortmund win, Jadon Sancho will be walking back into the Manchester United dressing room with a Champions League winners' medal.
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid (20:00 BST)
An 18-month operation has been undertaken to ensure this final passes off without incident, with more than 2,500 stewards on duty in and around Wembley.
Organisers are determined to avoid a repeat of the scenes that have marred previous Uefa showpieces including the Euro 2020 final at Wembley - which an FA-commissioned review described as a day of “national shame”.
The disorder at Wembley was followed by trouble at the 2022 and 2023 Champions League finals in Paris and Istanbul.
Entrances to Wembley were allowed four hours before kick-off - instead of the usual two - and Transport for London is running extra services to aid the flow of supporters to and from the ground.
There have also been investments in cameras so security can monitor what is happening at nearby pubs as well as in the stadium, and an increase in the amount of body-cams stewards wear.
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Buhll6lne: While I suppose most are expecting a comfortable win for Madrid, Dortmund are quite capable of taking the lead and holding on. They were clear underdogs in 1997 and I'm not sure I see them losing a 2nd Wembley final.
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid (20:00 BST)
John Murray
Commentator on BBC Radio 5 Live at Wembley
Borussia Dortmund boss Edin Terzic said in his pre-match news conference that Real Madrid were absolutely the favourites but added "We don't care. We know what we have done in the Champions League this season."
Last weekend we were talking about a big final at Wembley when many people were saying 'surely it will be a Manchester City win'. And we know what happened in that game.
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid (20:00 BST)
Matt Ford
German football writer in Dortmund
On 12 May 2012, Jurgen Klopp's Bundesliga champions Borussia Dortmund beat Bayern Munich 5-2 in the German Cup final to complete a domestic Double.
At the western end of Olympiastadion in Berlin, tens of thousands of Dortmund supporters had recreated the Yellow Wall beneath a huge banner featuring the final line from a popular terrace chant: "Werdet uns're Helden!" – become our heroes!
Stood beneath the banner, yellow and black scarf tied around his neck, was the 29-year-old assistant coach of Dortmund's Under-17s, a semi-pro striker by the name of Edin Terzic.
Nine years later, at the end of the pandemic-afflicted 2020-21 season, Terzic would lift the German Cup himself as Borussia Dortmund's interim coach.
And on Saturday, he will lead his boyhood club out at Wembley in the Champions League final against Real Madrid, hoping to do what it said on that banner in Berlin and become a bona fide Dortmund hero by lifting the ultimate prize.
Read more about Borussia Dortmund boss Edin Terzic here.
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Image source, Getty ImagesBorussia Dortmund v Real Madrid (20:00 BST)
There is something very wholesome about Edin Terzic's story.
The Borussia Dortmund fan who grew up to manage his boyhood club at Wembley in the Champions League final against Real Madrid.
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Lawman: Heart says Dortmund, head says Real Madrid. If Dortmund can just find that little bit of ‘luck’ Ancelotti mentioned, then they could win. Would be pleased for them if they did. Their fans will be in dreamland for a whole year. Just hope it’s a good football match.
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid (20:00 BST)
Image source, BBC SportThis is Jude Bellingham's mural in his hometown of Stourbridge where locals are proud of the former Hagley Primary School pupil's rise to Real Madrid and England star.
Last October Stourbridge FC supporter Bek Howell, 20, told BBC Sport: "Last month Jude was at one of the schools in Stourbridge talking to children. It's those gestures that mean a lot to kids around here because they look up to Jude.
"We couldn't believe he was running the show at the 2022 World Cup because he was only 19 at the time - and it all started at Stourbridge. He's a massive inspiration to people in the town."
Will they be building a statue of Bellingham on Market Street after tonight?
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid (20:00 BST)
Jude Bellingham is on the pitch dressed in a smart suit and looks a picture of calm. It's hard to believe he is still only 20.
He waves towards Real Madrid's fans.
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Image source, PA MediaBorussia Dortmund v Real Madrid (20:00 BST)
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Image source, SNSJohnny99: Aberdeen in 1983 are still the last team to beat Real Madrid in a European final.
Sir Alex Ferguson's Dons famously won the 1983 European Cup Winners' Cup in Gothenburg. Real Madrid have appeared in 10 major European finals since - eight Champions League and two in the Uefa Cup/Europa League - and won all 10.
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid (20:00 BST)
John Murray
Commentator on BBC Radio 5 Live at Wembley
Carlo Ancelotti is the first and only man to win four Champions Leagues as a coach. This will be a record-extending sixth Champions League final as a coach for him. He just exudes calm, confidence and reassurance.
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Image source, Getty ImagesBorussia Dortmund v Real Madrid (20:00 BST)
Champions League final: There's something special about Real Madrid, says Carlo Ancelotti
Carlo Ancelotti is just a few days short of his 65th birthday.
The Italian has already won the Champions League four times as a manager - two with AC Milan in 2003 and 2007, and two with Real Madrid in 2014 and 2022.
It was three years ago today that he left Everton to become head coach of Real for a second time.
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid (20:00 BST)
Image source, ReutersGreat scenes inside Wembley as Borussia Dortmund's fans let out a huge roar when Jurgen Klopp's face appears on the big screen.
Klopp is here as guest of the club he managed for seven years before going to Liverpool.
Klopp reacts to the roar with a beaming smile and raises both arms in the air.
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid (20:00 BST)
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Image source, Getty ImagesShadowson: Dortmund finished 5th in the Bundesliga. I remember another team in the Premier League that finished 5th in 2005, you never know.
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid (20:00 BST)
Chris Sutton
Former Premier League striker on BBC Radio 5 Live
Borussia Dortmund have had a strange season. They have found a way of getting to this final - beating Paris St-Germain in the semi-final was massive.
But at this moment in time they are the fifth best team in Germany.
Everyone thinks Real Madrid are going to win it but you just never know.
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid (20:00 BST)
While Real Madrid have multiple Champions League winners in their side, Borussia Dortmund have very few.
Indeed, the Black and Yellow have only won Europe's top prize once in 1997.
They finished fifth in the Bundesliga table - 27 points behind champions Bayer Leverkusen - but have seen off the likes of Newcastle (twice), AC Milan, PSV Eindhoven, Atletico Madrid and Paris St-Germain (twice) to reach their third Champions League final.
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Image source, Getty ImagesBorussia Dortmund v Real Madrid (20:00 BST)
Image source, ReutersHas someone just reminded Jose Mourinho he didn't win the Champions League in three years at Real Madrid?
Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid (20:00 BST)
Phil McNulty
BBC Sport chief football writer at Wembley
This is always one of the gala occasions of Europe's football calendar and the sport's glitterati are in town.
Just a glance around the packed media working room demonstrates that as former Real Madrid Champions League winner and Liverpool striker Fernando Morientes is here, as is Jorge Valdano, another Real legend and a World Cup winner with Argentina. Plenty of others as well.
Valdano became a statesman of the game but often an outspoken one - although his famous fruity description of a Champions League semi-final between Liverpool and Chelsea is one for after the watershed.
Real Madrid have won the Champions League five times in the past 10 years
Real Madrid rode their luck and overcame an outstanding challenge from Borussia Dortmund to win the Champions League at Wembley.
Carlo Ancelotti wrote more history with his fifth win as coach in the competition, while Real claimed the crown for the 15th time in trademark fashion as they survived a torrid first half and several missed opportunities from Dortmund before coming out on top.
Dortmund's Karim Adeyemi missed two first-half chances and striker Niclas Fullkrug hit the post, with recalled Real keeper Thibaut Courtois also providing a formidable barrier.
Real, inevitably, raised the stakes, with Dani Carvajal glancing home a header from a corner 16 minutes from time before Vinicius Jr raced clear on to Jude Bellingham's pass to add a second nine minutes later.
It crowned a glorious first season at Real for England's Bellingham, but it was a night of disappointment for compatriot Jadon Sancho, who is on loan to Dortmund from Manchester United.
Jude Bellingham helped Real win the trophy at the age of 20
Real Madrid's late surge to claim another victory in Europe's elite tournament carried an air of inevitability as they proved they are a ruthless winning machine when it comes to the Champions League.
As they have done previously in the competition this season, and in seasons before, Real stumbled along in the first half as they were pinned back by the intensity of Borussia Dortmund’s approach.
Real barely put together an attack worthy of the name while hanging on by the skin of their teeth at the other end, with Dortmund creating chances but crucially wasting them.
When that happens, as Liverpool and others have found before them in Champions League finals, there is normally only one outcome.
Match-winner Vinicius Jr was surrounded after the victory
And so it proved as Real, with keeper Courtois fully justifying Ancelotti's decision to pick him ahead of Andriy Lunin, picked up a head of steam to strike those two late blows to the heart of brave Borussia.
Many will wonder quite how Real Madrid do it when they seem out of sorts so often. But muscle memory kicks in with these great players, as the departing Toni Kroos, Carvajal, Nacho and late substitute Luka Modric claimed Champions League winners' medals for the sixth time.
As for the peerless Ancelotti, as impassive as ever, he continued his incredible record at the helm of this great club.
It was a quiet night for Bellingam, who missed a big chance before setting up Vinicius Jr for the second. But what a campaign he has had since joining Real from Dortmund.
England will hope this sets up their young superstar perfectly for Euro 2024.
Jadon Sancho couldn't inspire Dortmund to victory
Borussia Dortmund went into this Champions League final as heavy underdogs but played well enough, and created enough opportunities, to make a mockery of that tag in a superb first 45 minutes.
Adeyemi faltered as he raced clear in the early stages, choosing to go around Courtois but ending up too wide, wasting the opening. Courtois then saved well from Adeyemi before Fullkrug’s low shot rolled agonisingly against the inside of the post.
Courtois saved well from Fullkrug's header after the break, but the longer the game went on there was a sense that Dortmund would pay the ultimate price for not taking their chances, with Real experts at making their own opportunities count.
Dortmund were backed magnificently by their noisy and colourful fans, who gave their gallant team a rousing ovation after the final whistle, a reward for all their efforts.
But it was all to no avail as they lost their second Champions League final at Wembley after missing out against Bayern Munich in 2013.
When coach Edin Terzic reflects on this year's events at Wembley, he will do so with a sense of what might have been.
After the opportunity to rate players has closed, the score displayed represents the average from all the submissions by BBC Sport users.
| Position | Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points | Form, Last 6 games, Oldest first |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 16 |
| |
| 2 | København | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 8 | 8 | 0 | 8 |
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| 3 | Galatasaray | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 10 | 13 | -3 | 5 |
|
| 4 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 12 | 15 | -3 | 4 |
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| Position | Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points | Form, Last 6 games, Oldest first |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 1 | 16 | 4 | 12 | 13 |
| |
| 2 | PSV | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 8 | 10 | -2 | 9 |
|
| 3 | Lens | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | 11 | -5 | 8 |
|
| 4 | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 7 | 12 | -5 | 2 |
|
| Position | Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points | Form, Last 6 games, Oldest first |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 16 | 7 | 9 | 18 |
| |
| 2 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 10 | 9 | 1 | 10 |
| |
| 3 | Sporting Braga | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 6 | 12 | -6 | 4 |
|
| 4 | Union Berlin | 6 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 6 | 10 | -4 | 2 |
|
| Position | Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points | Form, Last 6 games, Oldest first |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 12 |
| |
| 2 | 6 | 3 | 3 | 0 | 8 | 5 | 3 | 12 |
| |
| 3 | Benfica | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 11 | -4 | 4 |
|
| 4 | Red Bull Salzburg | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 4 | 8 | -4 | 4 |
|
| Position | Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points | Form, Last 6 games, Oldest first |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 17 | 6 | 11 | 14 |
| |
| 2 | 6 | 3 | 1 | 2 | 7 | 7 | 0 | 10 |
| |
| 3 | Feyenoord | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 10 | -1 | 6 |
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| 4 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 5 | 15 | -10 | 4 |
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| Position | Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points | Form, Last 6 games, Oldest first |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 7 | 4 | 3 | 11 |
| |
| 2 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 9 | 8 | 1 | 8 |
| |
| 3 | 6 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 5 | 8 | -3 | 8 |
| |
| 4 | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 6 | 7 | -1 | 5 |
|
| Position | Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points | Form, Last 6 games, Oldest first |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | 6 | 0 | 0 | 18 | 7 | 11 | 18 |
| |
| 2 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 13 | 10 | 3 | 12 |
| |
| 3 | Young Boys | 6 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 7 | 13 | -6 | 4 |
|
| 4 | Red Star Belgrade | 6 | 0 | 1 | 5 | 7 | 15 | -8 | 1 |
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| Position | Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | Goals For | Goals Against | Goal Difference | Points | Form, Last 6 games, Oldest first |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 12 | 6 | 6 | 12 |
| |
| 2 | Porto | 6 | 4 | 0 | 2 | 15 | 8 | 7 | 12 |
|
| 3 | Shakhtar Donetsk | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 10 | 12 | -2 | 9 |
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| 4 | Antwerp | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | 6 | 17 | -11 | 3 |
|
Manager: Edin Terzic
Formation: 4 - 3 - 3
Manager: Carlo Ancelotti
Formation: 4 - 3 - 1 - 2
Manager: Edin Terzic
Formation: 4 - 3 - 3
Manager: Carlo Ancelotti
Formation: 4 - 3 - 1 - 2
UEFA Champions League
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This will be the 15th meeting between Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid in European competition, all of which have been in the UEFA Champions League. Real Madrid are the team Borussia Dortmund have faced most often in the competition (14), while the Spanish side have only faced FC Bayern München (22) and Juventus (16) more often.
Borussia Dortmund have only won three of their 14 meetings with Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League (D5 L6). Among teams they’ve faced at least five times in the competition, only against Manchester City (17%) do they have a lower win percentage than against the Spanish side (21%).
Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid last faced each other in the UEFA Champions League in 2017-18, with los Blancos winning both games in the group stage (3-1 away, 3-2 at home). Neither side has previously managed to win three consecutive games in this fixture in European competition.
This will be Real Madrid’s 18th appearance in a European Cup/UEFA Champions League final, with their 17 already the most of any side. They’ve lifted the trophy in 14 of those previous 17 finals, while a victory here would mean they’ve won the European Cup (15) more than twice as many times as any other team (Milan with the next-most on 7).
Borussia Dortmund are appearing in just their third UEFA Champions League final (won in 1996-97, lost in 2012-13 previously), with their qualification meaning this will be the first final in the competition between German and Spanish opposition since the 2002 final – one which was won by Real Madrid (2-1 v Bayer Leverkusen).
Should they avoid defeat here, Real Madrid will have gone unbeaten across a European Cup/UEFA Champions League season for the first time in their history (currently P12 W8 D4). They’d be only the second Spanish side to win the trophy without losing a single game in that campaign, along with Barcelona in 2005-06 (P13 W9 D4).
Borussia Dortmund finished 5th in the German Bundesliga this season – they’ll be the second-lowest ranked German side to compete in a European Cup/UEFA Champions League final, after Bayern Munich in 1974-75 (10th).
Real Madrid have only trailed for 7.5% of their total game time in the UEFA Champions League this season (90 minutes out of 1,200), the lowest percentage of any side. They’ve come back to win four matches in which they’ve been behind in the competition this term, with only Barcelona in 1999-2000 and Real Madrid themselves in 2016-17 (five each) having more comebacks wins in a single campaign in the competition.
Borussia Dortmund’s opponents have hit the woodwork 12 times in the UEFA Champions League this season (including six times in the semi-final by Paris Saint-Germain); the most a team has ever seen their woodwork hit within a single campaign on record (since 2003-04).
Borussia Dortmund defender Mats Hummels has not missed a single minute of UEFA Champions League football this season. The last outfield player to play every minute of a winning season was Cristiano Ronaldo in 2017-18 with Real Madrid, while the last central defender to do so was Sami Hyypiä in 2004-05 with Liverpool.
With both featuring in the 2013 final, an appearance by either of Borussia Dortmund’s Mats Hummels or Marco Reus would be the biggest gap between European Cup/UEFA Champions League final appearances (11 years) since goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon (12 years, 2003 – 2015), and second-largest by an outfield player in the showpiece event, after Lothar Matthäus (12 years, 1987 – 1999).
Should Jadon Sancho (Borussia Dortmund) and Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid) both appear in this game, it would be the first time two English players have faced each other in a European Cup/UEFA Champions League final while both playing for non-English sides.
Across the last three UEFA Champions League campaigns (since 2021-22), Real Madrid’s Vinícius Júnior has been directly involved in more goals than any other player (31 – 16 goals, 15 assists). 17 of those have come in the knockout stages (eight goals, nine assists), which is also the most of any player in this period.
Vinícius Júnior has five goals and four assists in the UEFA Champions League this season, following on from his seven goals and five assists in 2022-23. Only one player in Champions League history has registered 5+ goals and 5+ assists in consecutive seasons, with Luís Figo doing so in 1999-00 for Barcelona (5 goals, 9 assists) and 2000-01 for Real Madrid (5 goals, 7 assists).
Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos has made the most line-breaking passes in the UEFA Champions League (194), as well as the most leading to final third entries (64). Indeed, Kroos made more line-breaking passes than any other player in the semi-finals of this year’s tournament (45 across the two legs).
Real Madrid’s Jude Bellingham is the player who has made the most high-intensity pressures in the UEFA Champions League overall (572) and in the knockout stages (344) this season. Bellingham also has an almost 50-50 split between high intensity pressures made in the opposition half (49.7%) and the defensive half (50.3%) in the competition this term.
Jude Bellingham has created more chances under pressure (19) than any other midfielder in the UEFA Champions League, with four of those resulting in an assist for a Real Madrid teammate. The only player to provide more assists while under pressure from at least one opposition player in the current tournament is Borussia Dortmund’s Marcel Sabitzer (5).
Jadon Sancho has completed 25 dribbles across his six UEFA Champions League appearances for Borussia Dortmund this season; the most by a player in the knockout stages in a single edition since Neymar for finalists Paris Saint-Germain in 2019-20 (32).
Real Madrid’s Joselu is averaging 10.1 shots per 90 minutes in the UEFA Champions League this season (30 shots in 268 minutes), the most of any player to play 100+ minutes in a campaign on record (2003-04 onwards), while only Olivier Giroud (one every 43 minutes in 2020-21) has scored at a better mins/goal ratio than Joselu this season (five goals, one every 54 minutes) in a season in Champions League history (min. 250 mins played).
Borussia Dortmund’s Gregor Kobel has saved 84% of the shots on target he’s faced in this season’s UEFA Champions League (42/50). Indeed, based on the quality of shots on target faced using xG, he’s the goalkeeper who has prevented the most goals in the competition this term (+7.1 – seven conceded from 14.1 xG on target faced).
