To explain Real Madrid is to say that the man who opened the final, with a headed goal, was the shortest in height of the 22 who were on the pitch. To understand this club is to accept that Dani Carvajal, with his 1.73 height, was the one who rose above the German giants to break down Borussia Dortmund’s resistance and give the Whites a Fifteenth European Cup crowned by Vinícius’ ruling Junior (0-2).
A pasty final
It was a pasty, strange final, in which Borussia had 45 minutes of having Madrid tied up, so that in the end it was Carlo Ancelotti’s team who, as they have been doing all their lives, got their way. Like in that Indiana Jones movie in which Harrison Ford is threatened dozens of times by a sword, but with just one shot, he is enough to win the fight.
This time, the shot was an aerial flight by Carvajal. A flight towards union with Paco Gento, in the club of the six European Cups. A flight that deactivated the terrible first part of the whites.
Madrid’s performance in the first 45 minutes was enormous. He came out to have the ball, but not to play the game. The ball went from side to side in their domain, but it was Borussia who knew what they had to do.
The Germans’ contempt for the ball had a meaning, their game involved taking advantage of the speed, the spaces and their wingers, who shattered, through Karim Adeyemi, Carvajal’s first 45 minutes.
The man of the six finals, the only one who has been present in all of them since Lisbon, failed against the talented German player, who was left alone against Courtois in a ball into Hummels’ space. With all the time in the world and a huge advantage over the defensive line and Courtois, Adeyemi declined the shot and chose to go around the goalkeeper, with a rough and nervous touch that caused the ball to go off at an angle and ruin his moment. of glory.
It was not an isolated play, Adeyemi’s mistake was followed by a shot at Füllkrug’s post, well saved by Courtois, and two hands from the Belgian, to Sabitzer and Adeyemi. In the first half, Madrid saved an Expected Goals (xG) statistic of 1.7, crazy, worthy of the elf of the fourteen-time champion.
Given those 45 dismal minutes for Madrid, one could only hope for improvement. Going worse, or staying on the same line, would have meant saying goodbye to ‘Orejona’.
And if Madrid has something, it is a historical resilience to hold on to the wire, to survive in irregularities.
A different aroma for the second part
The second half already had a different flavor when Carvajal appeared from behind to crash a volley into the defense. It was a first warning, which was followed by a save by Kobel in the absence of Kroos.
Madrid, little by little, but with its classic ‘infartitos’, such as a save by Courtois on a Füllkrug header, was in the game. He had landed just in time, without rushing, cooking the game over low heat.
Nacho said in the preview that they preferred to start winning, without coming back, but he didn’t say anything about not suffering. Ancelotti did warn: “it is the most dangerous match.”
And that fear, danger, worry and nerves that grip the body as soon as the Champions League anthem has just been played and he faces the yellow wall of Borussia Dortmund, Dani Carvajal saw it disappear when he attacked the near post, in a Kroos corner. The youth player, the man who laid the first stone in the new sports city, was the man who unblocked the night.
Fear, the kind that often comes down to luck and the hand you start the game with, has passed away. The pressure, on the shoulders of the Decimoquinta, went to the inexperienced Germans, who gave away the 0-2 and the final.
Maatsen, with a catastrophic delivery behind, left Bellingham and Vinícius two for one. The Englishman, who had missed the second moments before, connected with the Brazilian, who with a bitten shot gave the final bite to the title.
Kroos’ goodbye
The fifteenth in the showcases of the largest club in the history of the European Cup. The one that marks the farewell of Kroos, that with the job completed the shield was pointed out, the one that since this Saturday at Wembley has one more title.
Data sheet:
0 – Borussia Dortmund: Kobel; Ryerson, Hummels, Schlotterbeck, Maatsen; Sabitzer, Can (Malen, m.80), Sancho, Brandt (Haller, m.80), Adeyemi (Reus, m.72); and Füllkrug
2 – Real Madrid: Courtois; Carvajal, Rüdiger, Nacho, Mendy; Camavinga, Kroos (Modric, m.85), Valverde, Bellingham (Joselo, m.85); Rodrygo (Militao, m.90) and Vinícius (Lucas, m.94).
Goals: 0-1. Carvajal, m.74 and 0-2. Vinícius, m.83.
Referee: Slavko Vincic (Slovenia) cautioned Schlotterbeck (m.40), Sabitzer (m.43) and Hummels (m.79) for Borussia Dortmund and Vinícius Júnior (m.35) for Real Madrid.
Incidents: Match corresponding to the final of the soccer Champions League played at Wembley Stadium (London) before 86,212 spectators.
The celebrations today
Real Madrid will celebrate the fifteenth Champions League, starting the celebrations on Sunday at 6:00 p.m. CEST (-2 GMT) at the Almudena Cathedral and ending the party at 10:00 p.m. at the Santiago Bernabéu.
Almost 10.4 million viewers watched the final
Almost 10.4 million viewers watched some moment of the Champions League final that was broadcast last night on RTVE’s La 1, with a screen share of 48.8 percent, and audience peaks that reached 61% on Community of Madrid in the so-called ‘golden minute’.
BY: Nadeem Faisal Baiga
