Reactions to the Champions League final: “That hurts today”

Borussia Dortmund lost the Champions League final at London’s Wembley Stadium. The defeat was particularly bitter because BVB dominated the game for 60 minutes and had the better scoring chances. Opponents Real Madrid played carelessly and relied on their luck and goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. After the restart, Real gradually took control of the game and scored goals for a 2-0 victory through Daniel Carvajal and Vinicius Junior. For BVB, it must have felt like a missed opportunity. Real stars Toni Kroos and Jude Bellingham admitted that they could have lost the game. The reactions were accordingly.

Mats Hummels, Borussia Dortmundwas “really proud” of his team despite the defeat. “We played with heart, with footballing class, and made some incredible attacks. Then they struck like they’ve been doing for what feels like 100 years. That hurts today.”

Toni Kroos, real Madrid: “I already said my personal goodbye last week. But this means an incredible amount to me. The decisive thing was that we didn’t concede a goal in the first half, that would have been more than possible. The half was not good. After that we got better at passing. But it took a long time until we were the better team. There’s no point in being sad, but there will be difficult moments.”

BVB-Coach Edin Terzic: “In the first half we had the feeling: we had them. The only difference is: they had that killer instinct. And we were missing that.”

Real coach Carlo Ancelotti: “Dortmund owned the first half, we owned the second. In the end, it was deserved.”

Hans Joachim Watzke: I am totally disappointed

BVB goalkeeper Gregor Kobel: “We had our chances, of course we have to make more of them. In the end, they will strike.”

BVB boss Hans-Joachim Watzke: “I’m totally disappointed. I was a little skeptical at half-time because we didn’t score despite having so many chances. But you can’t blame the team. We did well. But when you dominate the game and win in the end, like Real Madrid almost always does, it’s disappointing.”

Antonio Ruediger, Real Madrid: “It was a tough job. Dortmund did very well. But at the end of the day: That’s who we are. Real Madrid. We know how we have to suffer. And we always get our chances.”

Real goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois: “The first half was tough, they missed a lot of chances. Carlo asked us at halftime if it wouldn’t be better to play 4-3-3 because they were hurting us a lot on the flanks. We didn’t press well and gave a lot of space. We changed that.”

Jude Bellingham, Real Madrid: “I have to be honest: They were the better team in the first half. They could have been leading 2-0, 3-0. But if they don’t kill us, we’ll fight back.”