Champions League final: Real Madrid surges late for 2–0 victory over Dortmund

He was subbed off in the 84th minute, and left the field pumping his fists to the Real Madrid fans, as if the game was already won — because it is. This is Real Madrid.

What a career, and he topped it off with a trademark, pinpoint corner that decided the final.

Madrid ran the exact same set play at least three times from left-sided corners: A near-post ball toward Nacho and Dani Carvajal. All three times, it yielded headers on or nearly on goal. And Dortmund just couldn't stop it, because Kroos' deliveries were so precise.

Every single inch goes in Real Madrid's favor in Champions League finals. Incredible.

Still 2-0, two minutes plus stoppage time to go.

Game, set, match.

Vinicius Jr. punishes Dortmund's sloppiness.

Jude Bellingham takes a gift, feeds Vini, and a scruffy finish all but seals a 15th European title for Real Madrid.

Vini dances, and celebration mode commences.

Of the 20 outfield players on the pitch, was there a more unlikely goalscorer?!?

Carvajal, a 32-year-old fullback who's playing in his sixth Champions League final today, had only scored once in 86 UCL appearances.

He's also one of the shortest players on the field, at 5-foot-8.

And he might've just won the final with a header from a corner!

The second Champions League goal of his long Real Madrid career!

What a moment!

1-0 to Real Madrid.

Marco Reus, a Dortmund legend, is on for Adeyemi.

It's his final game for his boyhood club. At age 35, he's leaving at the end of the season.

If he can concoct a goal, what a story that would be...

A trademark Bellingham run. A wonderfully weighted Vini cross. But Bellingham — who hasn't looked 100% physically — seemed to pull out of the aerial duel as Kobel rushed off his line, and neither made real contact.

71st minute, still 0-0.

Niclas Füllkrug blasts a powerful header at Thibaut Courtois — whose save was comfortable, but would've been very tricky if the header was a foot or two left or right.

The favorites aren't dominant just yet. But they've had a few clean passages of play, and half-chances. A significant departure from the first half.

Still waiting for a breakthrough, though — from either side.

Vinicius Jr. led a break that was roughly 1.5-on-7. He expertly delayed, with a bit of misdirection, and then won a free kick.

Kroos sent that free kick toward the top corner, and Gregor Kobel palmed it away.

0-0, 50th minute.

No personnel changes. But surely there has to be some sort of change for Real Madrid.

Dortmund clearly the better team over those 45 minutes. The rough xG (expected goals) tally was incredibly, and surprisingly, lopsided: Dortmund 1.7, Real Madrid 0.1

But, with all the star power on Real Madrid's side, Dortmund just couldn't quite take advantage of the chances it created.

Tense, fascinating second half ahead.

Adeyemi and Füllkrug go close again.

Dortmund just had a 6-on-3 counterattack off a Real Madrid corner.

Only one team looks like scoring.

But remember, if history tells us anything... Real Madrid has Dortmund just where it wants 'em.

Time and time again, Madrid sleepwalks through parts of Champions League games, and somehow, someway, aura saves them.

Case in point: The final two years ago. Halftime reading, if you're interested.

(Still 0-0 here after 31 minutes.)

Dortmund with a flurry of chances, and Füllkrug is inches away from scoring — though he probably would've been offside on VAR review.

... and Karim Adeyemi makes a mess of it.

Timed his run excellently, and Mats Hummels picked him out with a multiple-line-breaking through-ball. Adeyemi was 1 on 1 with Thibaut Courtois, tried to round the Real Madrid keeper, and his touch just took him too wide.

Big moment.

Remember when we told you pregame that Eduardo Camavinga would have to slide to his left to cover Jadon Sancho, because Toni Kroos couldn't handle that task alone?

Camavinga was a bit slow to meet his first real test, and fouled Sancho. Lucky to get away without a yellow.

No real chances through 10 minutes.

But remember, in this competition, game flow really doesn't matter to or apply to Real Madrid. Their goal is just as likely to come out of nothing.

The game kicks off... and within 20 seconds, somehow, a fan makes his way onto the field, right to the center circle, seemingly uncontested.

And then, 30 seconds later, a second pitch invader joins him.

Great start, everyone. Great start.

Especially 10 minutes before kickoff.

Please, UEFA, let the Dortmund fans sing.

Dortmund's best chance today would seem to revolve around the right half-space.

Jadon Sancho and Julian Brandt are BVB's most impactful attacking players. Toni Kroos, who'll likely play on the left side of Real Madrid's midfield, is 34 and will be the least mobile player on the pitch. Kroos is brilliant with the ball at his feet, of course, but can be a liability without it.

Expect Dortmund to try to attack the space that Kroos is supposed to patrol, and then run at Ferland Mendy and Nacho on the left side of Real Madrid's defense.

(The pressure, in turn, will be on Eduardo Camavinga to slide over from his defensive midfield position, and make up for Kroos' defensive frailty

Knockout soccer — whether at the World Cup, or in the Champions League, or domestic cups, whatever — is notoriously random.

Just look at Manchester City, winner of the world's toughest domestic league six of the past seven years. During that stretch, City has only made two Champions League finals, and only won one (by a single goal).

All of that is what makes Real Madrid's record in Europe so remarkable. For one team to win the world's top competition more often than not over a span of 11 years — which what Madrid can achieve today — would be bonkers.

This is the ultimate establishment-vs.-anti-establishment final.

Real Madrid are the kings of European football. Since the very first edition of the European Cup (1955-56), which they won (just like the next four as well), they've held that title. They've now won the competition twice as much as anybody else. They're one of the richest clubs in the world — if not the richest. They have outsize political pull in Spain and at UEFA. They even tried to reshape European soccer around their power — by launching the Super League. Three years later, they're still championing the "project."

Dortmund, meanwhile, were a key Super League holdout. Their opposition helped ensure it collapsed. They — club officials and fans alike — have regularly spoken out against the rampant commercialization of football, both in Germany and Europe. They've resisted dirty money. They still carry a very Jurgen Klopp-ian, upstart ethos.

Dortmund, of course, has money too. Its annual revenue ranked 12th in the world last year. But its €420 million was roughly half as much as Madrid's haul. This is mismatch, on the field and off it, financially and culturally — all of it.

So, here we are. Wembley. Real Madrid. And a Champions League final that many think is a foregone conclusion.

Madrid has 14 European titles; Dortmund has one.

Madrid won its domestic league going away; Dortmund finished fifth in Germany

But other finals that felt similarly — Bayern Munich-Chelsea in 2012, Man City-Inter Milan last year — have been much tighter than expected. No matter what it looks like on paper, the best bet is that we'll get an entertaining (or at least interesting and contested) game.

Here's how the two teams will line up:

No surprises whatsoever.

In advance of any high-level soccer match, lineups typically get released 60 or 75 minutes before kickoff.

Ahead of the highest-level soccer match, this Champions League final, Real Madrid ... posted its starting 11 a full two hours and 40 minutes beforehand.

A move that sets the tone for the night, and screams: "Here we are, we are better than you; try to beat us — bet you can't."

And, well, it's tough to argue with them.