Madrid cap '10/10 season' with 15th UCL title

LONDON — Carlo Ancelotti said Real Madrid achieved a “10 out of 10” season after winning the Champions League for a record-extending 15th time with a 2-0 victory Saturday against Borussia Dortmund at Wembley.

Real, who also won the LaLiga title in Spain, sealed their win against Dortmund with two goals late in the second half from Dani Carvajal and Vinícius Júnior.

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The success was Ancelotti’s fifth Champions League title as a manager — another record — and Real’s Toni Kroos, Carvajal, Luka Modric and Nacho also joined club legend Paco Gento on six Champions League wins as players.

While Madrid emerged as European champions again, Dortmund were unlucky not to pull off a huge upset in London, the scene of their 2013 final defeat against Bayern Munich.

Edin Terzic’s team dominated the first half, but Julian Brandt, Niclas Füllkrug and Karim Adeyemi all missed clear chances to open the scoring.

“[Dortmund] played better than us and had more chances than us, but they let us get away with 0-0 at half-time,” Ancelotti said. “In the second half we had more balance, played better and managed to win the game.

“I think this season we had many, many troubles. We lost quality players and had to replace their ability with commitment.

“You need both sacrifice and quality to win Champions League, but this win makes me very satisfied because we never give up and always fight until the end.

“So I’d rate us as 10 out of 10 this season. This season has been 10/10. My players have been spectacular.”

Having won the club’s 15th Champions League, Ancelotti said that Real’s attention will turn quickly to winning it for a 16th time next season.

“That’s the way it is, that’s how football is,” he said. “What goes through my head? Everybody is waiting for winning a ninth [Champions League] final in a row and the danger of not winning it was real — Dortmund were an uncomfortable rival for us.

“In this club, there is a continuous demand and we are never satisfied. After the Euros and Copa America, the players will come back with the same hunger and ambition as before.

“This competition has given me fantastic happiness, but the target is to try to get some happy emotion after this game. I have the luck to be at the best club in the world.”

Germany international Füllkrug went closest to breaking the deadlock when he hit the post on 24 minutes.

Madrid struggled to get into the game, with former Dortmund star Jude Bellingham nullified by his old teammates.

But after weathering the first-half storm, Real settled down in the second period and eventually asserted their dominance before Carvajal and Vinícius scored the decisive goals.

“It was a very difficult game,” Carvajal told Movistar. “In the first half we came out alive, they were quite a lot better. We knew our moment would come … We knew how to suffer. That’s football.”

Ancelotti, meanwhile, paid tribute to midfielder Kroos, who played his final game in club football.

With Kroos retiring after Euro 2024, Ancelotti joked that Real are now waiting for him to change his mind.

“I’m really grateful to Kroos,” he said. “He finished at the very top, there is no way to finish higher than this. He had the balls to finish [his career] and he is a legend at this club.

“All the fans are grateful to him for attitude, his professionalism. I’ve told him we are waiting for him to change his mind — we are waiting for you.

“We have lost an important player, but we have players who can replace him, and we will adapt and play a slightly different way.

“We have fantastic players and the resources to remain competitive.”