Real Madrid went through a difficult journey to reach the top of Europe for the 15th time in history.

Real Madrid displayed remarkable poise, defeating Dortmund to claim their 15th Champions League title

Real Madrid continues its impressive record in Europe’s No. 1 tournament. Photo: UCL

Real Madrid defeated Borussia Dortmund with a score of 2-0 in the 2023-2024 Champions League final, which took place at Wembley Stadium in the early morning of June 2.

This is the 18th time Los Blancos have reached the final of the European Cup/Champions League, 7 more times than any other team (Bayern Munich and AC Milan each have 11).

Carlo Ancelotti’s army went through an extremely difficult journey to achieve this result. In the group stage, they won all 6 matches against rivals Napoli, Braga and Union Berlin. These are all opponents with little experience in Europe’s No. 1 tournament, unable to win even 1 point from Real Madrid.

Representing Spain entered the knockout round at the top of Group C, with an impressive scoring record (average 2.66 goals/match). Real Madrid bєat Union Berlin 1-0 at home in the first match. They then won against Napoli with a score of 3-2 and Braga with a score of 2-1, both away from home.

In the fourth match, the royal team defeated Braga at home with a score of 3-0. In the remaining two matches, Real won 4-2 against Napoli at the Santiago Bernabeu, before closing the group stage with a 3-2 away win over Union Berlin.

Real Madrid excellently passed the group stage with a winning record. Photo: UCL

In the round of 16, “White Vultures” met RB Leipzig – an opponent from Germany. Goalkeeper Andriy Lunin was the hero when he made amazing saves at home in the second leg. In the first leg at Red Bull Arena, Real Madrid won 1-0 thanks to Brahim Diaz. In the second leg, Real drew 1-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Real’s most annoying opponent on the journey to Wembley is former king Manchester City. In the first leg, the two teams presented an unbelievable chase. Even though they let their opponents take the lead twice, Los Blancos still showed their bravery, continuously chasing and ending the match with a 3-3 draw.

In the second leg at Etihad Stadium, Real Madrid faced non-stop, intense attacks almost every minute. However, they defended resiliently for 120 minutes, bringing the match to a penalty shootout. The king’s courage spoke, Real defeated City in a tense shootout and advanced to the semi-finals.

Real Madrid shows bravery and stubbornness in big matches. Photo: UEFA

Falling into the difficult bracket, Real continues to meet Bayern Munich – the team that just surpassed Arsenal in the quarterfinals. The first leg ended 2-2 in Munich and gave Real more confidence when returning to the Bernabeu for the rematch. In the capital Madrid, the Gray Tigers led until the 88th minute, before Joselu’s double turned the game around for Los Blancos in extra time.

In the final against Dortmund, the La Liga champion scored two goals in the last 15 minutes of the second half thanks to Vinicius and Carvajal, thereby standing at the top of Europe for the 15th time. Real Madrid’s “Champions League DNA” once again shows how formidable they are on the continental playing field.

Thus, the Spanish representative has won the tournament 15 times in the years: 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1966, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2014, 2016, 2017, 2018, 2022, 2024.