The Champions Blog #1.13

 THE CHAMPIONS BLOG

What a season it has been in the Champions League. All season long, we were treated to exciting drama, classic encounters and surprising runs, with a spectacular final in London being the cherry on top for this season of the Champions League. This is the Champions Blog.

 Wembley Stadium. The venue for this season's Champions League final. A night in which two of the best teams in Europe would compete, for the greatest prize in club competition history. 32 teams started in September and now only 2 remain. We have Borussia Dortmund of Germany, making their first appearance in the final since 2013, and Real Madrid of Spain, aiming to extend their record and make it 15 Champions League titles to their name. Real made a few changes to their side since winning the second leg of the semifinals against Bayern Munich. They switched from a 4-2-2, to a 4-3-1-2. Thibaut Courtois returns to the Real Madrid starting lineup, making his first appearance in the competition all season, replacing Andriy Lunin, while Eduardo Camavinga replaces French teammate, Aurelien Tchouameni in midfield. Meanwhile, Borussia Dortmund have changed their positioning from a 4-3-1-2 to a 4-3-3, however, all their players who defeated PSG in the second leg in Paris remained, with Emre Can and Marcel Sabitzer moving from defensive midfielders to midfielders, with Julian Brandt dropping down to midfield from his original attacking midfield position. Niclas Füllkrug kept his striker role while Jadon Sancho and Karim Adeyemi became wingers from midfielders. 

Picture Above: Passionate Borussia Dortmund fans waving their flags around cheering their team on

The first half started very neutral for both teams, each of them having possession but neither creating any chances to attack clinically. 20 minutes into the first half, and Dortmund had the first real chance of the game, with Karim Adeyemi 1 on 1 with Courtois, after a great through ball by Mats Hummels. Adeyemi drove past Courtois but couldn't tap the ball into the net, as Dani Caravajal made a fantastic block from a very tight angle. Just moments later, and Dortmund had another golden opportunity when Niklas Fullkrug tapped the ball onto the post for Dortmund with the ball just narrowly missing the back of the net. The Dortmund attacks wouldn't stop from there, as only 5 minutes later, Dortmund had another chance with Adeyemi. He struck but his effort was saved by Courtois, as Fullkrug couldn't pounce on the rebound. In the 40th minute, Marcel Sabitzer took a long-range shot but his effort was saved by Courtois, resulting in a corner for Dortmund. That would be all the action in the first 45 minutes, with the teams drawing 0-0, with all to play for in the second half. 

Picture Above: Real Madrid left back, Ferland Mendy, dribbling the ball past Borussia Dortmund forward, Jadon Sancho

In the second half, we saw much more attacks from Real Madrid. Early in the half, Toni Kroos almost managed to pounce on a free kick, in his final club game before retirement. His kick swirled past the Dortmund wall but was pushed away by Gregor Kobel. Later on, Dortmund had their next chance, but once again, Courtois proved better than Fullkrug, as his header was saved. Real came very close to scoring, as Vinicius Jr's cross almost met with the head of Jude Bellingham. His shot was just wide of the post and the scores were still level. In the 72nd minute, Dortmund club legend, Marco Reus came on for the German side, in what would be his last appearance for this club. However, his time on the pitch wouldn't be great. Only 2 minutes after coming on, Dani Carvajal headed the ball past Kobel to finally break the deadlock at 74 minutes. It was the first time a defender scored in the Champions League final since Sergio Ramos's goal in the 2016 final for Real against Atletico Madrid. However, Real's day would only get better. Almost 10 minutes later, a blunder in Dortmund's defence allowed Vinicius Jr to score his second Champions League final goal. This goal meant Real was surely going to be European champions for the 15th time. Only 4 minutes later, and Dortmund looked like they were back in the match when Fullkrug headed the ball past Courtois, looking to reinstall hope into Dortmund. However, unfortunately for the players in black and yellow, it was ruled offside, and Real were still leading by 2 goals to nil. It would then finish that way meaning the Real Madrid were the European champions once again.

Picture Above: Real Madrid captain, Nacho, lifting the Champions League trophy to make it 15 Champions Leagues for Real Madrid. 

There you have it. Another year in the Champions League has come and gone. The record winners are back on their perch, and we have the right winners here in London. In the end, Real Madrid have won the Champions League once again, for a record 15th time. Hopefully, it won't be the last success in the competition for this great team. Thank you all, for reading the Champions Blog all season long. The Champions Blog will return in September, when the new campaign kicks off with a brand new format and lots of new teams.