SportFootballReal Madrid battle Borussia Dortmund at Wembley Stadium, with England’s Jude Bellingham aiming for his first Uefa Champions League title
Borussia Dortmund sing Adele in changing room after reaching Champions League finalReal Madrid face Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final at Wembley Stadium tonight.
Los Blancos can win a 15th European crown, following a dramatic semi-final win over Bayern Munich, while BVB are bidding to win a second title on arguably the biggest stage in club football after upsetting Kylian Mbappe and PSG in the final four.
Vinicius Jr and Jude Bellingham are among the candidates for this year’s Ballon d’Or, knowing a win here paired with a fine performance could tip the balance their way ahead of Euro 2024 and the Copa America this summer.
While both teams have harnessed variety in their path to the final, relying on, at times, traditional No 9s in the shape of Joselu and Niclas Fullkrug.
In the dugout, Carlo Ancelotti can claim a fifth Champions League as a coach, with Edin Terzić looking to complete a famous journey from the Yellow Wall to the very top of European football with his boyhood club. Follow all the build-up, team news and latest updates from Wembley below:
1717259566Real Madrid team newsCarlo Ancelotti has made two changes to the team that completed the dramatic turnaround against Bayern in the Spanish capital last month.
Goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois replaces Andriy Lunin, who had played every knockout game up to this point, but travelled to London separate to the rest of the squad after a bout of illness.
Aurelien Tchouameni – who was expected to miss the game entirely, but is on the bench – is replaced in midfield by compatriot Eduardo Camavinga.
David Alaba is also on the bench, along with Luka Modric, Eder Militao and semi-final hero Joselu.
Chris Wilson1 June 2024 17:32
1717259007Real Madrid line-up announcedAs they tend to do on European nights, Real Madrid have announced their starting XI for this evening.
REAL MADRID XI: Courtois, Carvajal, Rudiger, Nacho, Mendy; Valverde, Camavinga, Kroos; Bellingham, Rodrygo, Vini Jr.
SUBS: Lunin, Kepa, Militao, Alaba, Modric, Joselu, Lucas Vasquez, Tchouameni, Ceballos, Fran Garcia, Brahim, Arda Guler.
Chris Wilson1 June 2024 17:23
1717258836Borussia Dortmund are the anti-establishment – can they be saviours of the Champions League?As Borussia Dortmund prepare for their biggest European game in 11 years, they’re also thinking about next year. There is increasing talk around the club about bringing former manager Jurgen Klopp back as head of football in 2025.
For some at Dortmund, this is the inevitable end point of a long period harking back to the 2010-13 glory era, with the club constantly rehiring familiar figures. This isn’t necessarily seen as a good thing, either. There is a strong argument it has prevented the club from progressing. They don’t even have a truly great young talent they can sell on right now, a policy that has sustained the club in past seasons.
It does still play into a vision that was created from that period, that frames this entire Champions League campaign. That spell saw Dortmund cast as a model for how to do football right. They had gone toe to toe with far wealthier rivals through emotionally stirring play, all fired by a raucous fanbase who were members of the club.
Such lasting qualities have now afforded them another status as the Champions League nears its climax. They are being cast as the potential “saviours” of the competition.
Chris Wilson1 June 2024 17:20
1717257936Prediction & OddsBVB need to score first if they hope to cause an upset – but the firepower in the Spanish side’s ranks is simply too much to hold at bay. Real Madrid to be celebrating once more. Real Madrid 3-1 Borussia Dortmund.
Odds
Dortmund win 9/2
Draw 10/3
Real Madrid 11/17
Chris Wilson1 June 2024 17:05
1717257336Predicted line-upsBVB – Kobel, Ryerson, Hummels, Schlotterbeck, Maatsen, Can, Sabitzer, Sancho, Brandt, Adeyemi, Fullkrug.
RMA – Courtois, Carvajal, Rudiger, Nacho, Mendy, Camavinga, Valverde, Kroos, Bellingham, Rodrygo, Vinicius Jr.
Chris Wilson1 June 2024 16:55
1717256736Early Real Madrid team newsAurelien Tchouameni and David Alaba are both out for Real Madrid, meaning Nacho should start at centre-back as captain.
The only real other issue for Carlo Ancelotti was to decide between his goalkeepers; Andriy Lunin has been playing most of the season but was ill in midweek, while regular No1 Thibaut Courtois has missed the campaign with an ACL injury but returned last week.
Yesterday, Carlo Ancelotti confirmed that Courtois was given the nod to start.
Expect the Los Blancos XI to look very similar to that of the semi-finals, with Nacho Fernandez partnering Rudiger in central defence and Camavinga coming in to replace the injured Tchouameni.
Chris Wilson1 June 2024 16:45
1717256136Early Dortmund team newsFor the German side, there are doubts over striker Sebastien Haller and full-back Mateu Morey, though it was unlikely either would start anyway. Ramy Benebaini is the only guaranteed absentee.
The team is likely to be similar to that from the semis, with Niclas Fullkrug leading the attack and Julian Brandt behind him.
Chris Wilson1 June 2024 16:35
1717255536Vinicius Jr can win two trophies in one Champions League final – the Ballon d’Or awaitsA Ballon d’Or frontrunner now, Vinicius may be more likely to secure Uefa’s player of the year award, where excellence in European club football is recognised. But, and while there is no official prize for it, he has sustained excellence for longer. He could win his second Champions League on Saturday. Over a three-year period, he has arguably been the best player in the best competition; not in every season, but as a cumulative body of work.
But if 2021-22 was Benzema’s annus mirabilis, with the Frenchman’s 15 goals powering many a Real comeback, it was Vinicius who delivered the winner in the final. If 2022-23 was Manchester City’s year, Vinicius’ brilliance remained a constant. This season, his semi-final double – man of the match in each leg – could lead to a hat-trick if he produces a similarly dominant display against Borussia Dortmund at Wembley.
And big-game brilliance forms part of the case for Vinicius. Some of it lies in the numbers: not quite in the way it did for Messi and Ronaldo over a decade and more, or Benzema in a wonderful year, but as an illustration of his impact, to support the evidence of the naked eye.
But the numbers matter less than his propensity to excel where Real players are judged: in the knockout stages. In 2021-22, the Brazilian played a part in all three goals in the 3-1 win over Paris Saint-Germain, set up Benzema’s decider in the quarter-final, ran from his own half to score in the 4-3 semi-final defeat to City and then delivered the final’s one goal.
In the current campaign, Vinicius set up two goals in the 3-3 draw with City, when he was arguably the best player on the pitch; he scored two against Bayern Munich in the Allianz Arena.
Chris Wilson1 June 2024 16:25
1717254936Vinicius Jr can win two trophies in one Champions League final – the Ballon d’Or awaitsFrom outgoing legends to a budding legend who is just getting started.
The description many another would apply to Jude Bellingham is one he bestows upon a teammate. “The best in the world,” he said of Vinicius Jr in May. Carlo Ancelotti agrees.
And if the Brazilian could prove a more controversial choice again next season, when Kylian Mbappe will surely be added to the list of Real’s candidates, for now Vinicius is the 21st-century boy who could finally deliver the Ballon d’Or to the next generation.
Which, as the last 15 have been won by players born in either 1985 (in Cristiano Ronaldo and Luka Modric) or 1987 (Lionel Messi and Karim Benzema), would represent a changing of the guard. And if Vinicius is not the eventual winner, it may be because Euro 2024 allows someone else – potentially Mbappe or Bellingham – to seize the limelight, though Brazil have their own summer tournament at the Copa America.
Chris Wilson1 June 2024 16:15
1717254036Champions League talking points – Auf wiedersehen to German pairReal Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos will bid farewell to Los Blancos after 10 years with the club.
The Germany international, who will retire following this summer’s European Championship in his homeland, has already won the Champions League four times with Real, as well as once with Bayern Munich.
The Germany international has won over a century of caps for his country and, having initially retired from national team action in mid-2021, returned at the request of Julian Nagelsmann earlier this year. He is set to play a central role for Germany when they host the European Championship.
Borussia Dortmund legend Marco Reus will play his final game for his beloved team tonight after a 12-year stay at the club.
The 34-year-old attacking midfielder, who was part of the Dortmund team beaten by Bayern in the all-German 2013 final at Wembley, is a firm fan-favourite after helping the team to two German cup wins in his time at the Westfalenstadion.
Chris Wilson1 June 2024 16:00
