Borussia Dortmund head coach Hans-Joachim Watzke believes his side deserved to score in the first half of their 2-0 Champions League defeat against Real Madrid at Wembley Stadium at the weekend.
Real Madrid were crowned champions of Europe for a 15th time, with second-half goals from Dani Carvajal and Vinicius Jr seeing off a brave Borussia Dortmund for a 2-0 Champions League final victory.
The German side hit a post and created two more clear chances in the first half as they threatened a big upset but Real have a unique relationship with this competition and, with an improved display after the interval, they finally came to life.
Toni Kroos – in his final game for the club – set up the opener with a corner for Carvajal to head home with 16 minutes to play, before England’s Jude Bellingham rolled in Vinicius Jr to punish a stretched Dortmund side soon after.
“We did very well and should have taken the lead in the first half. Then it would’ve been a different game. We became slightly tired after 65 minutes and Real exploited that ruthlessly,” said Watzke.
“I was already slightly skeptical at the half-time break because we did not convert the great superiority that we had into a goal. But you cannot make any reproach of the team. We gave a good account of ourselves.
“If you’re in the final, dominate the match and have these chances but Real Madrid win in the end as they almost always do, then it’s slightly disappointing.”
