No one can know better the paths that lead to eternity than the one who acts as its creator, Real Madrid, the team that settled there in its beginnings, that was expelled for decades after lifting six European Cups, and that rediscovered the formula to return to the place that he treats as his own, the glory that the rest look at with covetousness, and with awe. And the paths are sometimes very strange, and above all they are rarely the same. Hence the confusion, hence the repetition, the 15th European Cup trapped in Wembley, the most common venue for the finals, which had not yet crowned the king, and which won its ninth consecutive final in London, a match that it does not lose since 1981.
0
Gregor Kobel, Nico Schlotterbeck, Julian Ryerson, Hummels, Ian Maatsen, M. Sabitzer, Emre Can (Malen, min. 80), Brandt (Sébastian Haller, min. 80), Füllkrug, Jadon Sancho (Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, min. 86) and Karim Adeyemi (Marco Reus, min. 72)
2
Courtois, Nacho, Dani Carvajal, Rüdiger, Ferland Mendy, Jude Bellingham (Joselu, min. 85), Camavinga, Federico Valverde, Kroos (Modric, min. 85), Vinicius Junior (Lucas Vázquez, min. 93) and Rodrygo (Eder Military, min. 90)
Goals 0-1 min. 73: Dani Carvajal. 0-2 min. 82: Vinicius Junior.
Referee Slavko Vincic
Yellow cards Vinicius Junior (min. 34), Nico Schlotterbeck (min. 40), M. Sabitzer (min. 43) and Hummels (min. 78)
Against Borussia Dortmund he used agitation, the dismantling of rationality. After more than an hour trapped in the labyrinth constructed by Terzic, hooked to the rails that dictated where he was allowed to move, without finding canonical solutions, he blew up the construction in an irrational abduction. When he had barely shot on goal and Courtois began to take on the air of the hero of Paris, Real dismantled the resistance with an illogical move: Carvajal, who measures 1.73m, went ahead of Füllkrug, a 1.89m aerial specialist, and he headed a corner kick into the net from Kroos, who had a round goodbye. The youth player who, with Di Stéfano, laid the first stone of the club’s sports city once again opened the doors of glory.
Marked Carvajal, the only one of the four – with Nacho, Modric and Kroos – who reached Gento’s six European Cups who has started in all six finals, and thus at least seemed to introduce at least one point of narrative logic at the time. irrational that he had just unleashed. The final turned around at that point, when Dortmund, full of rookies in this territory, understood that with Madrid the plans were of no use, when Madrid smelled that they had hit the key. Kroos forced Kobel into another stop, like Nacho, like Camavinga. An avalanche
Until nine minutes after Carvajal’s goal, Vinicius found himself alone with the goalkeeper, shot cross and scored again in another final. Madrid does not need more. Madrid needs what it needs, and it always finds it in Europe. No matter how absurd it is. Or precisely because for him it is not, although it may seem that way to the rest.
Because up to that point logic said otherwise. The ball belonged to Madrid, yes, but Terzic said how he could use it. He allowed Ancelotti’s team to entertain themselves and invited them to advance and then attack the space they had created behind them with the false retreat. There Real trembled several times.
Dortmund observed with a certain calmness the laboriousness with which Madrid moved the ball from one wing to the opposite wing, without finishing finding Bellingham in the center, worn out in episodic attacks of fruitless pressure with Rodrygo, Vinicius and Valverde. With little success. Furthermore, on the sides, the Germans had built a very tight fortification, in which Ryerson was not alone with Vinicius; Hummels always went to the final cut, when the Brazilian seemed to be escaping. On the other hand, Adeyemi sank to almost complete a line of five defenders. It was all very predictable, harmless. Until Kroos appeared.
The German, on his last night with Madrid, in the same stadium where he once said goodbye to his national team three years ago, was the only one who skipped steps on the circulatory route. He crossed that pass that he has crossed a thousand times from left to right to Carvajal’s wing and there they found some gap. From there came two high shots inside the area, from Valverde and Vinicius.
Despite the swinging of Madrid’s windshield, the ball only moved where Terzic had arranged, in areas of little danger. Until they rescued her and Adeyemi, Sancho, Brandt and Füllkrug launched themselves into the space that their calculated retreat maneuver had freed. Adeyemi found himself alone in front of Courtois, who stretched his almost two meters so much that he forced the winger to avoid him with such a wide detour that he almost left the field.
Füllkrug also came face to face with the Belgian, and hit the post. And also Brandt, who tied himself in knots and almost hit the corner flag. The first half ended with two saves from the Belgian and without a single shot on goal from Madrid, which could not decipher the scenario set by Dortmund.
The first time Kobel was forced to intervene was after a incident disconnected from the game. Vinicius ran with the ball almost from area to area, he was thrown to the edge and Kroos found the goalkeeper’s gloves covering the top corner.
The inventor of the finals had a ball at Wembley, while Borussia Dortmund lapped up the chances they accumulated. The outcome seemed ready to precipitate at any moment. The chain of won finals was going to be broken. Until the inventor of these nights removed the logical ground on which the Germans stood and closed another glorious cycle of six European Cups in ten years. Like the one from the 50s and 60s that he seemed to have invented. Yes, for Madrid, inventor of eternity.
You can follow EL PAÍS Deportes in Facebook and xor sign up here to receive our weekly newsletter.
#Real #Madrid #continues #afterlife
