Dortmund went into the Champions League final as favorites but lost in unfortunately predictable circumstances.

It is a bit simplistic but not entirely unreasonable to suggest that Real Madrid did not win this European Cup final. Borussia Dortmund lost.

The club that wasted a Bundesliga title last season by stumbling to a 2-2 draw on the final day against a mid-table Mainz side with nothing to play for was undone by stupid mistakes at Wembley, ruining the excellent work they had done throughout the season. first hour.

Even the most ardent Madrid supporter would surely admit that Edin Terzic’s side were superior for most of this contest, particularly in the first half. In a surprisingly open match in which both teams focused on their own play rather than stopping the opposition, Dortmund took control. This is a team that only finished fifth in their domestic league, and the usual approach for lowly teams in this situation – Liverpool (2005), Chelsea (2012) – is to play as underdogs. . Dortmund played as favorites.

Terzic used a 4-3-3 rather than his usual 4-2-3-1, which worked effectively. Without the ball, Marcel Sabitzer pushed and pressed Toni Kroos more effectively than Bayern Munich managed in the semi-final, preventing him from passing the ball to the attackers. This deprived Real’s attackers of service, and Madrid offered little else.

Emre Can protected the defense well and observed the excesses of Jude Bellingham from the left wing of Real. Dortmund right-back Julian Ryerson played aggressively against Vinicius Junior – and although he fell victim to the Brazilian’s speed and trickery on several occasions, the outstanding Mats Hummels covered for him at several times and made two exceptional tackles.

With the ball, Dortmund created serious chances. The system meant they played neat combinations between the winger and the number 8 on either flank, with Sabitzer drifting to the right and interchanging with Jadon Sancho, and Julian Brandt moving left and taking turns with Karim Adeyemi to draw in the Real right-back, Dani. Carvajal gets on the pitch then sprints behind.

And sprinting behind was clearly Dortmund’s main approach – as if they had spent their entire week working on this simple concept. In the first half, they created several good moments with this kind of approach play, notably when Adeyemi ran in behind, got around Thibaut Courtois, but sent himself too far and couldn’t finish. Then came Niclas Fullkrug’s run behind and a shot that hit the far post. Madrid, as always, did not press with much energy and saw their defensive line breached by Dortmund’s through ball.

Other managers would make radical changes at half-time. Of course, Carlo Ancelotti approached the situation very calmly. There were no substitutions or major changes in shape in the second half, although his assistant and son, Davide, was seen encouraging Rodrygo to stay wider on the right after spending the first half at try to combine with Vinicius Jr on the left. . Madrid integrated into the game, without ever playing perfectly.

Dortmund conceded two goals in unfortunately predictable circumstances. Prior to this match, five of their previous nine concessions had come as a result of set pieces – awarded, sometimes when they managed to clear the first ball, then conceded from the second phase onwards. The first thing to avoid is therefore conceding cheap corners. But they did it here, in the 73rd minute.

Carvajal goes highest after Dortmund concede avoidable free kick (Dan Mullan/Getty Images)

They had also received a warning. Rewind to 25 minutes earlier, and 173cm (5ft 8in) right-back Carvajal had slipped through the near post to nod a Kroos corner over the bar.

But Dortmund did not learn their lesson. Kroos took the same type of corner, Carvajal made the same type of run, and this time he volleyed the ball home.

Terzic knew he had to make changes. Maybe he made too drastic changes. Having already introduced Marco Reus for his last Dortmund appearance, he then brought in Sebastien Haller and Donyell Malen, two other attackers, and gutted the midfield. He needed to play, but Dortmund’s structure broke down.

And then came the second killer – again, following a familiar failure. In a 2-1 defeat to Atletico Madrid in the first leg of the quarter-finals, left-back Ian Maatsen drifted inside and played an under-touched square pass straight into the midfielder’s midfield. ‘Atleti Rodrigo De Paul, who produced a simple finish. Mistakes like that, not just from Maatsen, have been alarming for Dortmund this season. Here, Maatsen played a blind pass through his defense straight to Bellingham, who passed the ball to Vinicius Jr to make it 2-0 and put the game to bed.

The knee-jerk reaction to the result is that it’s classic Real Madrid: they play badly and still win the Champions League final, as always. In their European Cup final victories this century, they have probably played poorly more often than played well. At times it feels like the opposition couldn’t have done much more and were denied by some superhuman performances. Liverpool’s defeat by Real two years ago, for example, was largely down to the brilliance of Courtois.

This year, Dortmund – who were probably the eighth favorite in the competition with eight teams remaining – deserve great credit for fighting to this point and for their excellent performance that evening. But they were also their own worst enemies. They missed some great opportunities. They twice allowed one of the smallest players on the field to get his head in the corners. They presented the ball directly to Real’s dangerous man.

Dortmund fans have become accustomed to the yellow and black players not being up to the task. But this defeat will be particularly painful.

(Top photo: Alex Pantling/Getty Images)