Real Madrid vs Dortmund is a Champions League final worth waiting for. Let’s take a look at the situation of the two teams with Football before the big battle at Wembley in the early morning of June 2.
Both Real Madrid and Dortmund are no strangers to the festive atmosphere of the Champions League final. The representative of La Liga holds the record of winning the tournament 14 times, not to mention winning runner-up 3 times. Meanwhile, the team from Germany also once held the prestigious Elephant Ears trophy in the 1996/97 season, after defeating Juventus 3-1 in the final match. However, the match taking place at Wembley on the morning of June 2 is the first time Real Madrid will face Dortmund in the Champions League final.
How did they get to the final?
Compared to their opponents, Real Madrid’s road to the final was more bumpy and coach Carlo Ancelotti’s team performed very well. They went straight into the knockout round with a record of winning all 6 matches in Group C. In the knock-out round, the capital Madrid team continued to prove their status as a bright candidate for the championship by successively surpassing through Leipzig, Man City and Bayern Munich.
And Dortmund was somewhat lucky to reach the final battle at Wembley. In the group stage, they led Group F above PSG. In the knockout round, coach Edin Terzic and his team did not have to face any very strong opponents. They in turn passed PSV Eindhoven, Atletico Madrid and PSG. In particular, the crossbar and vertical post helped Dortmund escape defeat no less than 4 times in the two semi-finals against the French capital team.
Which team has the advantage?
In recent years, Real Madrid has had great success in the Champions League arena. This is their 6th final in Europe’s most prestigious arena in just the past 11 years. However, in the direct “glove” match to compete for the Elephant Ears Cup with Dortmund, coach Ancelotti and his team were rated much higher by experts than their opponents.
Real Madrid has Champions League winning DNA. They are both classy, brave and mature. Mr. Ancelotti also owns a team of players including all of the world’s top stars. Meanwhile, Dortmund’s last appearance in the Champions League final before this season was in 2013, also at Wembley (lost 1-2 to Bayern Munich). The main squad of the yellow shirt team is also mainly players who were disgraced in many different big teams last season, typically Marcel Sabitzer and Jadon Sancho…
Real Madrid’s strengths and Dortmund’s limitations
Real Madrid is very strong in attack. In this season’s Champions League, only Man City – the opponent eliminated by coach Ancelotti and his team in the quarter-finals – scored more goals than them. Specifically, the capital Madrid team had a total of 26 goals scored against the opponent’s net (compared to Man City’s 28 goals). In particular, all three of their strikers Joselu, Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo Goes scored 5 goals each.
Not only good at scoring goals, Real Madrid also excels at imposing their style of play on their opponents. Meanwhile, the player who scored the most goals in the 2023/24 Champions League for Dortmund has only scored 3 goals so far (Niclas Fullkrug). This season, the Bundesliga representative is mainly appreciated for his competitive spirit and team play. They will have to put in more than 100% effort if they want to beat Real Madrid to win the cup.
Fairy tales
Everyone loves a fairy tale in the upcoming Wembley final, right? Good, because both Real Madrid and Dortmund have players in their squads who would complete a dream journey, if they were to lift the Elephant Ears trophy.
For Dortmund, it all mainly revolves around Jadon Sancho rebuilding his career, after spending the first half of this season training alone at MU following a public fight with coach Erik ten Hag. So disappointed with the England international, United loaned Sancho back to Dortmund last January.
The romantic story in Madrid revolves around Joselu, the hero who scored two goals in the recent Champions League semi-final against Bayern Munich. Last season, he played for Espanyol and had to witness the heartbreaking scene of his home team being relegated. Real Madrid initially only borrowed him from Espanyol in a “fireproof” fashion, after top striker Karim Benzema suddenly left.
Instead of a conclusion
In a direct “competition” to determine the championship, the final result is very difficult to predict, although all advantages seem to be in favor of Real Madrid. The reason football has become the most attractive sport on the planet is because it always contains interesting surprises. Dortmund has no reason not to be allowed to dream of a fairy tale ending for them this season.
