Who won Champions League final 2024? How Carvajal, Vinicius Jr. sealed 15th title for Real Madrid vs. Borussia Dortmund

Dom Farrell

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Who won Champions League final 2024? How Carvajal, Vinicius Jr. sealed 15th title for Real Madrid vs. Borussia Dortmund image

Real Madrid came through a torrid first half against Borussia Dortmund to win the UEFA Champions League final 2-0 at Wembley Stadium.

Edin Terzic's underdogs made the running during a first half where Madrid did not manage a shot on target and Niclas Fullkrug hit the post.

But experienced defender Dani Carvajal found the breakthrough 17 minutes from time with his first Champions League goal for five years.

A more familiar goalscorer made sure of victory as Vinicius Junior followed up his winner against Liverpool in Paris two years ago with another priceless strike in the showpiece match.

MORE: Carlo Ancelotti's record haul of UEFA Champions League titles

Who won Champions League final 2024?

Real Madrid's 2-0 victory over Borussia Dortmund gave them a record-extending 15th European title and their sixth in the past 11 seasons. Carlo Ancelotti now has five Champions Leagues as a head coach, with this third at Madrid standing alongside two with AC Milan.

Dortmund's 1997 final triumph over Juventus remains their sole success in the competition. As was the case when they contested a Wembley final in 2013 against Bayern Munich, they were left wondering what might have been.

Vinicius Jr seals Madrid's 15th Champions League

Dortmund faded after going behind and Jude Bellingham and Eduardo Camavinga each went close before Vinicius Junior sealed the deal.

Ian Maatsen played a dreadful pass across his own half. Bellingham pounced and teed up Vinicius to coolly stun a finish into the turf and beyond Gregor Kobel.

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Carvajal heads Madrid towards Champions League glory

Dortmund resumed on the front foot after halftime, with Thibaut Courtois keeping out a Niclas Fullkrug header. But Madrid belatedly started to find their rhythm.

Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo threatened from open play and their set-piece threat increased. The latter brought the breakthrough. On his farewell club appearance, Toni Kroos whipped in an inviting left-wing corner that Dani Carvajal headed home at the near post.

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Fullkrug hits post as Dortmund rue missed chances

In terms of attacking threat, Dortmund were comfortably the better side before halftime but were wasteful in the final third.

Karim Adeyemi was forced wide by Courtois after being played through by a sublime Mats Hummels throughball. The pacy Dortmund forward also forced Courtois into a sharp stop from which Fullkrug was unable to head the rebound goalwards.

The closest BVB came during the opening 45 minutes was when Maatsen hunted down Camavinga, turned towards the Madrid goal and slotted a pass to Fullkrug. The striker slid his shot beyond Courtois but against the base of the right post.

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Dom Farrell

Dom Farrell Photo

Dom is the senior content producer for Sporting News UK. He previously worked as fan brands editor for Manchester City at Reach Plc. Prior to that, he built more than a decade of experience in the sports journalism industry, primarily for the Stats Perform and Press Association news agencies. Dom has covered major football events on location, including the entirety of Euro 2016 and the 2018 World Cup in Paris and St Petersburg respectively, along with numerous high-profile Premier League, Champions League and England international matches. Cricket and boxing are his other major sporting passions and he has covered the likes of Anthony Joshua, Tyson Fury, Wladimir Klitschko, Gennadiy Golovkin and Vasyl Lomachenko live from ringside.