Real Madrid – Borussia Dortmund: Player ratings

Man of the match

Vinicius Jr (8): Outstanding. From the start to the end of the game, the Brazilian was the most dangerous Madridista, even when his team was struggling in the first half (41st). But after the break, he raised his level and showed immense quality to make a difference, as illustrated by his sublime move on Ryerson (78th). He finished in style by scoring his 24th goal of the season to make the break, his second in two Champions League finals.

Real Madrid

Courtois (7): Back in goal for the Madridistas after a long spell on the sidelines, when Lunin was a contender to play in this final, the Belgian had a perfect game. He was the one who saved the club during BVB’s strong spell, with three decisive saves. He was also perfect in his aerial interventions and his restarts. A perfect match.

Carvajal (6): A difficult start defensively for the experienced Madridista, who had to deal with the pace of Adeyemi. He covered the ball very poorly in depth towards the striker, but made up for it with a fine tackle (20th). It was better for him in the second half, when he was able to show himself more in front of goal, with a good shot attempted (58th). Overall, he struggled technically, but he pulled off the most important action of the game, as he opened the scoring with a very good header.

Rudiger (5): Like a very poor alignment on Adeyemi’s breakthrough (20th), he struggled with Dortmund’s counter-attacks in the first half. But the German was effective on set pieces (45th+2) and seemed to gain in solidity as the second half progressed, notably against Adeyemi (66th).

Nacho (5): Less prominent than Rudiger, the Merengues captain also had difficulty dealing with Sancho and Fullkrug’s positioning. However, he made no mistakes in his game and was more in control after the break. A good header to note, which was close to giving Real Madrid the break (82nd).

Mendy (6): With a lot of work to do in front of Jadon Sancho and Ryerson, the French international did the defensive job with five duels won out of five attempted. Technically, he was also perfect, succeeding with all his passes. However, we saw him too little on Real Madrid’s attacking moves.

Valverde (6): Like his partners, he struggled in the first half and had technical difficulties in getting the ball out. But as the game went on, he grew in strength and first delivered a sublime through ball to Vinicius Jr. (43rd). After the break, he did a lot of damage to Dortmund’s midfield and was also involved in the opening goal.

Camavinga (6.5): A complicated first half where he struggled against the Black and Yellow midfield and was unable to show his game. But after the break, the former Rennes player showed his class and was close to offering the break goal to Bellingham (77th). In complete control, he even thought he had scored a sublime long-range goal, but Kobel was there to save the day (86th).

Kroos (7.5): For his last match with Real Madrid, the German went out on a high note. Always in great technical control, he had a superb free-kick at the near post (49th), before delivering a perfectly placed corner to Carvajal’s head for the opening goal. Before a last free-kick again deflected by Kobel (81st). A successful final for the player who received a superb ovation on his last outing. Replaced by Modric (85th), who was solid.

Bellingham (6): This was a difficult match for the Englishman, who struggled a lot in this match. Very few balls won and chances created, but he did the essentials by perfectly exploiting a bad pass from Maatsen to offer the break goal to Vinicius Jr. A final in which he managed to be decisive. Replaced by Joselu (85th)

Rodrygo (4): Perfectly controlled by Maatsen and Schlotterbeck, the Brazilian struggled a lot in this final, with very few chances to create for himself. Only 28 balls touched and one successful dribble out of five attempted. A good breakthrough at the end of the game, which came to nothing (71st). But the main thing is that he has won his second Champions League. Replaced by Vasquez (81st)

Vinicius Jr (8): See above

Borussia Dortmund

Kobel (6.5): The Swiss goalkeeper played his part in this final. A very quiet first half for him, with no saves to make, apart from some good clearances. However, he was called into action from the start of the second half. He first saved a superb free-kick from Toni Kroos (49th). He misjudged his exit on a cross from Madrid (69th). He got down well again to face the German midfielder with a fine diagonal pass (80th), before spreading himself on a curling shot from Eduardo Camavinga (81st). A few seconds later, he had to intervene again on a header from Nacho (82nd), before conceding a second goal to Vinicius Junior (83rd).

Ryerson (3.5): At the start of the match, the right-back played his part in the Germans’ excellent balls out. Facing Vinicius Junior, the main danger for Real Madrid, the Norwegian alternated between good and less good. Interesting in his anticipation, he was less fair in the face of the Brazilian’s dribbles (27th). As the match went on, he lost his way and sank. He let Vinicius Junior score the break goal.

Hummels (6): The tormentor of the Parisians in the semi-final, the 2014 world champion disgusted the Madrid attackers for an hour. Tough on the man, he was also able to intervene on the ground, as against Vinicius (43rd, 73rd). Valuable in his clearances, he sent a perfect through ball to Karim Adeyemi (21st). However, he lacked impact during Real Madrid’s strong spell in the last half hour. Deprived of selection for the Euro at home, he ends his season with this lost final.

Schlotterbeck (5): Alongside Mats Hummels, Nico Schlotterbeck also distinguished himself with his calm and maturity. The German international was perfect in his interventions, as against Vinicius Junior and Rodrygo (27th, 45th). His long ball towards Niclas Füllkrug was an additional weapon for Borussia to vary their attacks. At the end of the match, he blocked a shot that seemed to be on target in front of Jude Bellingham (78th). Much more haphazard in his defending when Real accelerated. He did not get up quickly enough in front of Vinicius Junior on his goal.

Maatsen (4.5): Solid defensively, he respected the instructions to stay back. Rodrygo never managed to make the difference against the BVB left-back. Even if he has no reproach in his interventions, he did not participate in the creation of Dortmund’s play and was above all at fault for the goal conceded by Vinicius Jr. He played his last match of the season, as the left-back was not selected for the Netherlands for the Euro.

Sabitzer (5): Less visible than against PSG, he had an average match in this final. In an exercise he loves, he tried his luck from long range. But his axial shot was repelled by the Belgian goalkeeper (41st). Frustrated by a foul, he stupidly picked up a yellow card by contesting the referee’s decision (43rd). He was also more discreet in the second half, where he was generally dominated by Real Madrid’s midfield.

Can (6): The Marsupials’ captain was up to the task defensively. In the holding midfield role, he left nothing to his former partner Jude Bellingham, who was absent from the game for a long time. Eduardo Camavinga then put him under pressure with his quick ball-winning. Replaced by Donyell Malen (80th) at the end of the match, who brought a bit of madness with his freshness.

Sancho (4.5): A mixed match for the English international. The player who returned to Dortmund in the winter did not hesitate to drop back to bring creativity to the midfield. Good in tight spaces, he never found himself in a shooting position. In the last few minutes, the player on loan from Manchester United (whose future is still uncertain) gave way to the very young Jamie Bynoe-Gittens (86th).

Brandt (5): The team’s most creative attacking midfielder was not at his best in this final. He had the first hot action of the match. By carrying the ball a bit too much, he opened his foot too wide and did not find the target (14th). More generally, he lacked precision in his passes at the beginning of the match (19th) before gaining more confidence at the end of the first half.

Brandt (5): The team’s most creative attacking midfielder was not at his best in this final. He had the first hot action of the match. By carrying the ball a bit too much, he opened his foot too wide and did not find the target (14th). More generally, he lacked precision in his passes at the beginning of the match (19th) before gaining more confidence at the end of the first half. His second half was much more muddled, as he no longer found the solution to break the lines. He gave way to Sébastien Haller (80th) to bring more weight into the opposing penalty area.

Adeyemi (5.5): A match full of regrets for the young German as he had the best chances. Played in deep by Mats Hummels, he missed his first one-on-one against Thibaut Courtois because of a too long hook (21st). Launched again on his left side, he missed another duel against the Madrid goalkeeper after a bad ball carry (28th). He was Dortmund’s most dangerous player, thanks to his sharp calls and good timing, but he missed his final gesture every time. Marco Reus replaced him in the 72nd minute. A page turns for the German. The BVB legend played his last minutes in the yellow and black jersey tonight.

Füllkrug (4): Scorer in the semi-final against PSG, the big striker played with his qualities tonight. In the first half, he hit the post after a cross in the German strong period (23rd). The German striker was sought on long balls, but also directly on the ground for deflections. On a cross from Karim Adeyemi, he made a powerful header, but Thibaut Courtois was on the ball. His match was tarnished by his late arrival on the corner leading to Dani Carvajal’s goal (74th). He thought he had put his team back on track by reducing the gap, but his header was disallowed for offside.