Champions League Final Takeaways
Dortmund rue missed chances, Carlo Ancelotti underlines his legacy and Toni Kroos goes out on top.
Real Madrid are European champions for a record-extending 15th time.
Los Blancos rode their luck as Borussia Dortmund dominated the first half of Saturday’s final, but Edin Terzic's team failed to take their chances and late goals from Dani Carvajal and Vinicius Junior proved decisive.
But what were the main takeaways from the Wembley Stadium showpiece?
DORTMUND LACK CLINICAL EDGE
Borussia Dortmund's tag of nearly men remains intact. Just over a year on from their chastening failure to land the Bundesliga title, they more than matched Madrid for long periods but failed to take advantage.
Karim Adeyemi was particularly lively in the first half, his searing pace giving Carvajal all sorts of problems.
Yet he fluffed his lines when presented with two big opportunities, taking the ball far too wide when one-on-one with Thibaut Courtois before firing a low effort too close to the Belgian goalkeeper a few minutes later.
Their other big chances fell to Niclas Fullkrug, who prodded a shot off the inside of the post in the first half then saw a diving header kept out by Courtois in the second.
According to Sofascore, Dortmund created three big chances to Madrid's one and tallied 2.08 expected goals (xG) to their opponents' 1.13.
Yet there is only one stat that matters, and that is particularly true when facing Madrid in Europe. Winning without being at their best is what they do.
DON CARLO REIGNS SUPREME
Two European Cup wins as a player, five Champions League triumphs as a coach.
Carlo Ancelotti's record in Europe's premier club competition is unmatched. His three titles with Madrid are also a joint-high for any manager with a single team, alongside Bob Paisley with Liverpool and Zinedine Zidane with Los Blancos.
Even the effortlessly cool Italian looked somewhat ruffled by the way Dortmund continually caught Madrid cold in transition in the opening period, but some calming words clearly did the trick at the interval as the Spanish giants slowly assumed control.
Indeed, after half-time Madrid were on top for xG (1.07 to 0.2), shots (11 to five) and shots on target (six to one).
As he always does, Ancelotti resisted the urge to panic and let his star players do their thing. His first changes, made after 85 minutes, were made so Jude Bellingham and Toni Kroos could get rapturous ovations from the travelling Madrid fans.
The Champions League is, quite simply, Ancelotti's competition.
KROOS CONTROL
Madrid's headliners Bellingham and Vinicius were quiet until Ian Maatsen's error allowed them to combine for the second goal, leaving Kroos to play the starring role in the final game of his glittering club career.
Madrid's midfield was overrun in transition on several occasions in the first half, and one wondered whether, if Aurelien Tchouameni had been fully fit, a change might have been forthcoming.
While Madrid had less possession after the interval, everything seemed more purposeful as Kroos took control.
By the time his inswinging corner was glanced home by Carvajal, he had already teed up another chance for the full-back and worked Gregor Kobel with a clever free-kick.
Kroos' Sofascore rating of 8.2 was the second highest of any player on the pitch (behind Carvajal, 8.5), the German completing 97 per cent of his passes (91/94), creating four chances and tallying 0.55 expected assists (xA).
Kroos, Carvajal, Nacho and Luka Modric have now all won six European titles, a feat only previously achieved by Paco Gento. What a way to bow out of club football.
By Harry Carr