Real Madrid vs Borussia Dortmund: A Look Back At The 2024 Champions League Final
The new Champions League format has provided plenty of entertainment so far, with the Swiss system resulting in some exciting group fixtures, including a rematch of last year’s final between Real Madrid and Borussia Dortmund at the Santiago Bernabéu. According to Champions League betting, the reigning champions arrive as favourites to lift the trophy, but the unpredictability of European football means the game can go either way.
Dortmund, under new manager Nuri Sahin, has had to deal with the loss of several senior players, making his job even harder after stepping in for Edin Terzić, who departed after the loss to Madrid.
It was a second Wembley loss in the Champions League final for the Bundesliga outfit, who, despite a good start, just lacked the experience to get over the line against Carlo Ancelotti’s men.
In this article, we take a look back to last year’s showpiece event and, ahead of their group stage encounter, recall what happened in the 2024 Champions League final.
The road to Wembley
Both sides jetted off to London knowing they had deserved their place in the history books. Madrid had been one of the clear favourites since the group stages, having won the title in 2022 after beating Liverpool in Paris. Dortmund on the other hand, were plucky underdogs.
Terzić navigated a tough group that included AC Milan, Newcastle United and Paris Saint-Germain, finishing top before seeing off PSV Eindhoven and Atletico Madrid to reach the semi-finals, where they would meet the Parisians once again – a 2-0 aggregate victory over Kylian Mbappe and co. booking their place in the final.
Madrid managed to maintain a perfect record in their group, before sweeping aside Leipzig, as well as defending champions Manchester City on penalties before a closely contested 4-3 win over German champions Bayern Munich.
A fast start for the outsiders
Once the 86,000 inside Wembley took their seats, it was the Germans that inflicted a fiery start upon the Merengues, with Julian Brandt and Karim Adeyemi pressing high but squandering valuable chances.
Dortmund controlled the majority of the early sparring but Thibaut Courtois, who was playing his first game of the season after suffering an ACL injury, kept Madrid in the game. The man of the match in Paris two years earlier, Courtois justified his selection by collecting some difficult crosses and beating Terzić’s first line with his kicking, ensuring the game was goalless at the interval.
Experience shines though
Real have this innate ability to never panic under pressure. The squad was vastly experienced, with the likes of Toni Kroos and Luka Modric winning multiple Champions League titles already. Whatever the situation, they trust themselves to play their way back into the game, and that is precisely what happened.
After a spell of possession but creating few chances, Kroos goes over to take a corner. And in his final game at club level after a decade at Madrid, delivers a pinpoint cross for the unlikeliest of sources to head home. Dani Carvajal, one of the smallest players on the pitch, got in front of the Dortmund defence to put Ancelotti’s side 1-0 up.
Dortmund were out of ideas and getting desperate, with the double substitutions of Donyell Malen and Sebastien Haller having little influence. The team stepped up, and that allowed space in behind, and with a poor back pass from Ian Maatsen, Vinicius Junior pounced and made it 2-0 in the 83rd minute to seal the game.
A final to remember
This was the last edition of the traditional Champions League, and there was only ever going to be one winner.
Madrid added a 16th European crown to their trophy cabinet, and following the signing of Mbappe from PSG, many expect them to do the business once again.
However, Sahin’s Dortmund will be looking to ensure their own progression to the knockout stages when they head to Spain, as BVB pursue their first Champions League title since 1997.
