Johnny Phillips: Can German efficiency stifle Real’s big-hitters?
Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid have earned their place in tonight’s Champions League final, which offers an intriguing match-up between two clubs who took very different routes to this Wembley showpiece.
It seems like ancient history now, but few would have predicted the Germans’ progress after their opening day defeat to Paris St Germain in the group stages.
Matters hardly improved in their next outing which produced a drab 0-0 draw against AC Milan at home.
But it was those two back-to-back victories against Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United which turned the tide in the group and set Dortmund on their way to the knockout stages.
Real Madrid had no such dramas in their own group, winning all six of their matches and finishing eight points ahead of nearest rivals Napoli.
With Jude Bellingham in fine form after his £100million move from Dortmund, the Bernabau club made harder work of the knockout stages.
Goalkeeper Andriy Lunin came to the fore in the Last-16 win over RB Leipzig before becoming the hero of the penalty shootout victory against Manchester City in the quarter-finals.
Dortmund’s progress to the semi-finals was more straightforward, on the other hand, with a solid win over Dutch outfit PSV Eindhoven and then a tighter margin of victory against Atletico Madrid.
