With their 2-0 win over Borussia Dortmund last night, Real Madrid have added another UEFA Champions League title to their cabinet and taken their UCL tally to 15, with the runner-up AC Milan, who have 7 top European titles to their name, having less than half of these trophies.
This was another memorable campaign for the Merengues, as they once again defied the odds to get their hands on the most coveted trophy in Europe. This is the only time that Los Blancos have gone through an entire UCL campaign without suffering a defeat.
Real Madrid had a perfect group stage in this edition of the tournament, as they defeated Union Berlin, Napoli, and Braga in all six group stage games.
The suffering began for the Merengues in the knock-out rounds, as they had to rely on an almost perfect Andriy Lunin to get the better of RB Leipzig in the Round of 16, but were ultimately able to do the job as they advanced to the quarter-finals with a 2-1 win on aggregate.
It was in the quarter-final round that Los Blancos faced their toughest challenge in the tournament, as they faced one of the best teams on the continent, Manchester City. After a 3-3 draw at the Santiago Bernabeu and a 1-1 draw in England, Real Madrid won 4-3 on penalties to get their revenge on Pep Guardiola’s team for their loss last season and qualified for the semi-final.
A European Classico awaited the Merengues in the semi-final, as Bayern Munich faced Real Madrid. A Vinicius Junior brace at the Allianz Arena kept the Merengues level with the Bavarians, for whom Sane and Kane got the two goals.
The Germans went ahead first in the second leg of the semi-final, but Joselu’s brace late in the match allowed Real Madrid to once again come back from the brink of defeat to make way for the final.
In the ultimate stage of the competition, another German team awaited the Merengues, as Borussia Dortmund had gotten the better of Paris Saint Germain to also advance to the final. Real Madrid had to face a battery of Dortmund chances in the first half, but the game went into half-time 0-0.
The Vikings amped up their game in the second half, and after missing a couple of good chances, Dani Carvajal put them ahead with a good header from a corner, while Vinicius Junior added another as a Dortmund defender lost the ball near his goal.
Similar to their last UCL win, Real Madrid once again defeated three teams from the same league in the knockout rounds. In the 2021-22 season, Real Madrid overcame Manchester City, Chelsea, and Liverpool, all from the Premier League. This time around, they triumphed over RB Leipzig, Bayern Munich, and Borussia Dortmund, all from the Bundesliga, to secure their 15th UCL title.
The players and fans will celebrate this achievement for days, but as Florentino Perez stated after the game, winning the 15th UCL title only means that the team will now have to start working for the 16th.
