LONDON – Amid flags of gold and silver, Real Madrid lifted the Champions League trophy for a record 15th time on Saturday.
The most familiar sight of European club football’s biggest competition felt as fresh as ever after a 2-0 win in the final against Borussia Dortmund at Wembley Stadium.
“Getting used to it? Never,” said Carlo Ancelotti, who extended his record of wins as a coach to five. “The dream continues.”
A white wall of Madrid fans at one end of the stadium sang to their victorious heroes after goals from Dani Carvajal and Vinicius Junior had ensured victory.
An unexpected result came in unexpected circumstances after Dortmund dominated the chances in the first half.
“It was a very difficult game, more difficult than we thought,” Ancelotti said. “We changed things because in the first half we were a bit lazy.”
Carvajal put Madrid ahead in the 74th minute and Vinicius doubled the Spanish giants’ lead nine minutes later.
Ancelotti’s fifth Champions League title was his third with Madrid, two more than his closest rivals, Zinedine Zidane, Pep Guardiola and Bob Paisley.
Carvajal, Luka Modric, Toni Kroos and Nacho equalled the benchmark set by Madrid icon Paco Gento by winning the trophy for a sixth time.
Madrid’s victory comes just a year after Manchester City lifted the trophy for the first time, a win which many believed would herald a new era of dominance for Guardiola’s side in Europe. Instead, it was Ancelotti who underlined his claim to be considered the finest coach of his generation thanks to his continued dominance in the Champions League.
In addition to winning three titles with Madrid, he was also a two-time winner with AC Milan.
Madrid’s dominance in the competition is incredible, having won more than twice as many as any other club. Milan are the second most successful club with seven wins.
“It’s a love story between Real Madrid and the European Cup. Players come, players go, but we can say this is our competition,” Madrid president Florentino Pérez said.
Dortmund paid the price for not making the most of their first-half superiority when Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois made a number of saves and Nicolas Fulkrug hit the post.
Madrid took full advantage after the break when Carvajal headed the ball past Dortmund goalkeeper Gregor Kobel at the near post from Kroos’ corner.
Vinicius scored past Kobel to make it 2-0 and raced off to celebrate after his goal ended Dortmund’s hopes of pulling off one of the biggest Champions League upsets in recent memory. Afterwards, Vinicius celebrated and posed for a selfie with rapper Jay-Z, who was in the 86,000-strong crowd.
The German side looked capable of containing Madrid for long periods after dominating the chances in the first half.
Coach Edin Terzic outsmarted Ancelotti in every area and Madrid’s stars remained quiet.
Only a combination of Courtois and the frame of the goal kept the score level until halftime, when the goalkeeper twice saved Kareem Adeyemi from scoring and then Fullkrug’s sliding effort came back off the post.
“When the game turned around the momentum was there and you can see why they are the champions of this competition,” Terzic said. “We just couldn’t manage to score and that was the main reason why we didn’t manage to win the game.”
