Real Madrid became European champions for a record-extending 15th time thanks to a 2-0 victory over Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final at Wembley.
Los Blancos were second best for the whole of the first half, but Edin Terzic's men failed to take any of the chances presented to them, with Niclas Fullkrug hitting the inside of the post.
Carlo Ancelotti's side took full advantage in the second period, where a deft Dani Carvajal header from a corner gave the Spanish giants the lead, and Dortmund had little in the way of a response.
A horror mistake from Ian Maatsen then proved fatal, and Vinicius Junior wrapped up Real's latest episode of European supremacy before club legend Zinedine Zidane presented the trophy to his former side.
Under the bright lights of Wembley Stadium, one-time winners Borussia Dortmund and 14-time winners Real Madrid are preparing to scrap it out for the biggest European bragging rights of them all.
While Edin Terzic's side put two past Paris Saint-Germain without reply in their semi-final ties, Los Blancos required one of their famous Champions League turnarounds to eliminate Bayern Munich and set up a date with Dortmund.
As kickoff approaches, time for a peek at the team news...
SUBS: Lunin, Kepa, Militao, Alaba, Modric, Joselu, Vazquez, Tchouameni, Ceballos, Guler, Diaz, Garcia
SUBS: Meyer, Lotka, Ozcan, Reus, Haller, Nmecha, Wolf, Malen, Sule, Moukoko, Watjen, Bynoe-Gittens
No start for Marco Reus in his 429th final game for Borussia Dortmund, but departing Real Madrid legend Toni Kroos is in.
One would not put it past him to make an impact off the bench, though; he has scored four goals against Real Madrid in the past, although Cristiano Ronaldo's seven in this head-to-head is unmatched.
Their first ended in glory - a 3-1 win over Juventus in 1997 - but back in 2013, they were bested by Der Klassiker foes Bayern Munich. At Wembley.
Time to put things right?
Reus is just one of two players from that 2012-13 Dortmund side still donning the yellow strip today, alongside one of the heroes of their run to today's final.
This man.
Scorer of the only goal in the second leg of their semi-final with Paris Saint-Germain, Mats Hummels also experienced Wembley heartbreak on that day but has been one of the competition's best players this season. Just 35 years young!
The last triumphant player to do so was Ronaldo in 2017-18, while a defender has not completed every minute of a winning Champions League season since Liverpool's Sami Hyypia in 2004-05.
With Jadon Sancho and Jude Bellingham both in their respective XIs, this will be the first time in Champions League final history that two Englishman line up against each other for non-English teams.
Interested to see what sort of reception Bellingham gets from the Yellow Wall!
The ex-Dortmund man will be aiming to build on an incredible tally of 23 goals and 12 assists for Real in his debut season.
The man for the big occasion? One would assume so.
Both Aurelien Tchouameni and David Alaba are included despite being ruled out through injury - post-game celebrations (if Real win) probably a factor in that!
Then again, that performance in the 2022 final...
The latter is also out to equal a record set by a former Real Madrid (and Barcelona!) player tonight...
Only one man has ever contributed at least five goals and five assists in back-to-back Champions League campaigns - Luis Figo.
Furthermore, not since losing the 1981 final to Liverpool have Los Blancos come up short in the showpiece match, winning their last eight in a row. Omens.
Only the Copa del Rey has eluded Real so far, and they are unbeaten in 25 since losing to city rivals Atletico Madrid in that competition in January.
The last Spanish side to achieve that were the 2005-06 Barcelona crop, but as an Arsenal fan, I prefer not to speak.
Anyway, want another slice of encouragement, Blancos fans?
Ancelotti's men have scored in every single one of their matches away from the Bernabeu this season. Apologies in advance for jinxing it.
However, thanks to Germany's terrific UEFA coefficient, they will play in the revamped 2024-25 Champions League no matter what happens tonight.
Of course, Reus was on target in his Signal Iduna Park farewell. He'll have the neutrals' backing tonight for sure.
From 14 previous matches, Real unsurprisingly lead the way with six wins, while Dortmund have only prevailed on three occasions.
Only against Manchester City (17%) have they fared worse against in Europe's top competition. They also lost both of their most recent meetings in the 2017-18 group stage.
Think we know who the Liverpool fans will be cheering on tonight!
Sixty-seven minutes. Four goals. And he's now haunting Blancos nightmares in Barcelona colours.
Arsene Wenger, Sir Alex Ferguson, Zinedine Zidane and the aforementioned Figo have also been caught on celebrity watch.
The American rapper is the founder of agency Roc Nation Sports, who have Real's Vinicius among their clientele.
However, the Dortmund faithful do not appear to be fans of his work...
Will Dortmund defy the odds or is Real's name about to be etched onto the trophy for the 15th time?
Tonight's referee is Slovenia's Slavko Vincic, by the way. Once wrongly arrested as part of a probe into a drugs and prostitution ring in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
One to tell the grandkids! Or perhaps not.
A Dortmund logo-emblazoned crown tifo makes its way up the BVB crowd as the theme booms across Wembley.
Never gets old.
A pitch invader makes his way onto the pitch straight away and approaches Bellingham for a selfie.
Brief break in play.
Anyways, after that farce, we're back underway.
No idiocy between these two sides, though. Real settling into possession straight away.
Dortmund force a corner, though...
Real still feeling their way into this final.
Real Madrid keep the pressure on and Valverde shoots from range, but the Uruguayan's effort is high and not at all handsome.
A penny for Erik ten Hag's thoughts?
Fullkrug stays onside... maybe... from a long ball over the top and cuts back to his arriving colleague, who cannot sort his feet out on the sprint and can only scuff wide from a promising position.
Real get down the right again and Vinicius has a pop this time, but it is a carbon copy of Valverde's earlier miss.
Vinicius tries to outwit Hummels, but the German wins this round.
Real play it short and recycle.
Ancelotti's men are experiencing plenty of joy down that side, though.
Carvajal fails to play the offside trap and the German is in one-on-one with Courtois, but his touch takes him wide and Carvajal got back to block!
Best chance of the game so far and it goes to the underdogs!
How many more of those openings will Dortmund get tonight?
Firstly, Adeyemi just cannot latch onto Sabitzer's ball into the box, before Fullkrug hits the inside of the post on the stretch. Real living incredibly dangerously!
BVB's pace and runs in behind are carving Real Madrid open at will, but you feel that those missed chances will be punished at some stage.
Vinicius bursts past Julian Ryerson but sees his cross cut out.
Dortmund then break, but Adeyemi is denied by Courtois from a tight angle and the rebound is just behind Fullkrug!
Carvajal is the next to deliver for Real; Schlotterbeck hacks clear, but Los Blancos win a corner...
However, Ferland Mendy nudges Adeyemi over - staying on the right side of the law in the process - and the attack fizzles out.
Some engrossing action so far at Wembley, and Dortmund really should be ahead, but the scoreline in the top-left corner crucially still reads 0-0.
Sancho tries to flip-flap his way past Mendy and Kroos but fails, fouling the former in the process.
Kobel takes his sweet time playing the ball out and is wiped out by Vinicius for his troubles. Yellow for the Brazilian.
Ancelotti's men try to fashion something down the right again, but the ball ricochets off of Carvajal and behind for a goal kick.
Vinicius is... taken down? The contact from Schlotterbeck was minimal if any, but he goes in the book regardless.
Sabitzer now tries one from 20 yards, but Courtois gets down comfortably to parry it away.
The half-time whistle cannot come soon enough for Real. Sancho now delivers a cross which Eduardo Camavinga cuts out.
A shortage of goals but no shortage of pulsating action!
Dortmund exploded out of the blocks, but Adeyemi, Fullkrug and Brandt have all missed golden chances, while Courtois has earned his keep too.
Meanwhile, Real's attacking endeavours have been limited to a couple of shots from range. Ancelotti wake-up call needed!
Fullkrug will be having nightmares about that chance if his side lose, but there was little more he could have done on the stretch.
The big question now, does Ancelotti bite the bullet and make any half-time changes?
Unlikely, although Joselu time may not be too far away if things continue in the same vein.
The Lilywhites were already a goal down by this point, though. Real very much still in this.
Real get us back up and running.
Real immediately surge down the other end through Vinicius, who holds the ball up and draws the foul from Hummels.
Free kick in a promising position...
Carvajal gets his head to the corner but heads over the bar. Ancelotti's half-time words going down a treat already!
Camavinga clears the former's eventual delivery away before Mendy gives away another set-piece.
No free kick, despite the Frenchman's turf-punching outburst.
Carvajal runs into Adeyemi and reacts coldly to the German's attempts to help him up.
The experienced right-back latches onto a looping delivery to the back stick, but Maatsen takes the sting out of his half volley and Kobel can gather.
This is how the Dortmund faithful welcomed their troops back out for the second half, though.
Imagine the scenes if their side win? They have plenty of work still to do, though. Real looking a tad better since the break.
However, Maatsen's attempt at trickery fails miserably and the ball rolls out for a goal kick.
Adeyemi delivers a delightful ball to the arriving Fullkrug, whose bullet header is punched away by the Belgian. More signs of danger for the men in white!
An exquisite inswinging cross from Vinicius picks out the Englishman's run, but it misses his head and takes a small nick off Kobel before bouncing just wide!
No corner, though.
Dortmund have wasted their opportunities, but a hitherto ruthless Real side have failed to punish them.
Reus is stripped and ready for Borussia Dortmund. The script has been written and all that jazz.
Dortmund clear, but Maatsen slices Valverde's speculative attempt wide and back to the quadrant...
How do Dortmund respond now? Each of the last four UCL finals has ended 1-0...
Camavinga just about manages to keep the ball alive on the right and cuts back for Bellingham, who surely must score, but Schlotterbeck sticks a foot in at the crucial moment. Incredible defending!
Dortmund deal with the resulting corner this time.
Real free kick which has Kroos's name written all over it...
Kitchen sink time. Sebastien Haller - back from an ankle injury - and Donyell Malen on for Brandt and Can.
Camavinga conjures up a magnificent curler from range, but the Dortmund goalkeeper acrobatically tips it behind before also leaping to swipe Nacho Fernandez's header away!
Maatsen is the culprit, giving the ball straight to Bellingham, who lays off Vinicius Junior to do the rest with a finish into the ground and into the net. Mesut Ozil-esque.
Champions League number 15 is heading to Madrid!
As poor as Ancelotti's men were in the first half, their second-half lead is certainly warranted. Dortmund have been abysmal since going down.
Bellingham skips off for Joselu, while Kroos bids farewell to the Real Madrid crowd, addressing the raucous white wall with a fist pump and roar.
The German gets a warm embrace from Ancelotti as Luka Modric comes on.
In the end, the glass-half-empty ones were proven right.
Carvajal now wins a throw-in off of Malen and greets the Real fans with a fist pump and a smile. He knows. We all know.
Eder Militao about to come on to help Real shut up shop.
Militao - who would have surely started had his season not been hampered by an ACL injury - replaces Rodrygo for the five minutes of injury time.
REAL MADRID WIN THE CHAMPIONS LEAGUE!
Los Blancos are European champions for the 15th time, extending their unassailable record at the top of the continental game.
Dortmund put in an excellent shift, but failing to take their opportunities against Ancelotti's Champions League juggernaut was a fatal mistake.
A huge thank you to everyone who joined us to witness Real Madrid conquer the continent again. You can find our match report here.
Goodnight all!
