 Match programme cover | |||||||
| Event | 2023–24 UEFA Champions League | ||||||
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| Date | 1 June 2024 (2024-06-01) | ||||||
| Venue | Wembley Stadium,London | ||||||
| Man of the Match | Dani Carvajal(Real Madrid)[1] | ||||||
| Referee | Slavko Vinčić (Slovenia)[2] | ||||||
| Attendance | 86,212[3] | ||||||
| Weather | Cloudy 18 °C (64 °F) 54%humidity[4] | ||||||
←2023 2025 → | |||||||
The2024 UEFA Champions League final was the final match of the2023–24 UEFA Champions League, the 69th season of Europe's premier club football tournament organised byUEFA, and the 32nd season since it was renamed from theEuropean Champion Clubs' Cup to theUEFA Champions League. It was held atWembley Stadium inLondon, England, on 1 June 2024,[5] between German clubBorussia Dortmund and Spanish clubReal Madrid. Due to the postponement and relocation of the2020 final, the final hosts were shifted back a year, with London instead hosting the 2024 final.[6]
Real Madrid won the match 2–0 fora record-extending 15th title, and their sixth in eleven seasons.[7] As winners, they earned a spot to play in the2024 UEFA Super Cup, against the winners of the2023–24 UEFA Europa League,Atalanta. They also earned a chance to compete in theinaugural edition of theFIFA Intercontinental Cup. As they had already qualified for the2025 FIFA Club World Cup by winning the same tournament in 2022, the spot intended for the winners was redistributed via the UEFA club ranking, with Dortmund claiming one of those spots.[8]
ForBorussia Dortmund, this was their third UEFA Champions League final appearance, the first since the 1–2Der Klassiker loss againstBayern Munich in2013, which was also held atWembley Stadium, and the first European final for managerEdin Terzić.[9] Additionally, Dortmund played oneEuropean Cup Winners' Cup final (winning in1966)[10] and twoUEFA Cup finals (losing in1993 and2002).[11]
Real Madrid played in a record-extending 18th European Cup/UEFA Champions League final, and their second in three years. They previously won 14 finals (in1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1966,1998,2000,2002,2014,2016,2017,2018 and2022) and lost three (1962,1964 and1981).[9] Their managerCarlo Ancelotti reached a record-extending sixth UEFA Champions League final as manager, winning in2003 and2007 and losing in2005 while in charge ofMilan, and winning the 2014 and 2022 finals with Real Madrid.[12] Real Madrid also played in two European Cup Winners' Cup finals (losing in1971 and1983)[10] and two UEFA Cup finals (winning in1985 and1986).[11]
This was the first Champions League final between the two clubs,[9] and their first meeting in European competitions since the2017–18 Champions League group stage encounters, when Madrid won3–1 away and3–2 at home. Of their previous fourteen encounters, Dortmund won three matches, Real won six matches and five finished as a draw.[13]
Until the semi-finals, Borussia Dortmund had the best defence in the 2023–24 Champions League with six clean sheets and eight goals conceded. In contrast, Real Madrid goalkeepers had the most goal-scoring opportunities to prevent in the same season.[14]
In the following table, finals until 1992 were in the European Cup era, since 1993 were in the UEFA Champions League era.[15]
| Team | Previous final appearances (bold indicates winners) |
|---|---|
 Borussia Dortmund | 2 (1997,2013) |
 Real Madrid | 17 (1956,1957,1958,1959,1960,1962,1964,1966,1981,1998,2000,2002,2014,2016,2017,2018,2022) |
This was the third UEFA Champions League final to take place at the rebuilt Wembley Stadium, having previously been held in2011 and 2013. Overall, it was the eighth final to be held in London, with the other five matches taking place at theoriginal Wembley Stadium in1963,1968,1971,1978, and1992. The match was the ninth European Cup final held in England, with the 2003 final having been held atOld Trafford inManchester, equalling the record of nine European Cup finals held in each of Italy, Germany and Spain. It was also the thirteenth held in the United Kingdom, with the 1960,1976 and 2002 finals held in Scotland and the 2017 final held in Wales.[16] Wembley Stadium was also a host venue atUEFA Euro 2020, with eight matches played at the stadium including the semi-finals andfinal.[17]
An open bidding process was launched on 22 February 2019 by UEFA to select the 2022 and 2023 UEFA Champions League final venues.[18] Associations had until 22 March 2019 to express interest, and bid dossiers had to be submitted by 1 July 2019.[19]
The Football Association was reported to have bid with Wembley Stadium in London to host the 2023 final, in order to mark the centenary of the opening of the original stadium in 1923.[19] Wembley Stadium was selected by the UEFA Executive Committee during their meeting inLjubljana, Slovenia, on 24 September 2019,[20] where the hosts for the2021 and 2022 UEFA Champions League finals were also appointed.[21]
On 17 June 2020, the UEFA Executive Committee announced that due to the postponement and relocation of the2020 final, London would instead host the 2024 final.[6]
Note: In all results below, the score of the finalist is given first (H: home; A: away).
| Borussia Dortmund | Round | Real Madrid | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opponent | Result | Group stage | Opponent | Result | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Paris Saint-Germain | 0–2 (A) | Matchday 1 | Union Berlin | 1–0 (H) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Milan | 0–0 (H) | Matchday 2 | Napoli | 3–2 (A) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
 Newcastle United | 1–0 (A) | Matchday 3 |  Braga | 2–1 (A) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Newcastle United | 2–0 (H) | Matchday 4 | Braga | 3–0 (H) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Milan | 3–1 (A) | Matchday 5 | Napoli | 4–2 (H) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Paris Saint-Germain | 1–1 (H) | Matchday 6 | Union Berlin | 3–2 (A) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Group F winners
Source:UEFA | Final standings | Group C winners | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Opponent | Agg. | 1st leg | 2nd leg | Knockout phase | Opponent | Agg. | 1st leg | 2nd leg | ||||||||||||||||||||
 PSV Eindhoven | 3–1 | 1–1 (A) | 2–0 (H) | Round of 16 | RB Leipzig | 2–1 | 1–0 (A) | 1–1 (H) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Atlético Madrid | 5–4 | 1–2 (A) | 4–2 (H) | Quarter-finals | Manchester City | 4–4(4–3p) | 3–3 (H) | 1–1 (a.e.t.) (A) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Paris Saint-Germain | 2–0 | 1–0 (H) | 1–0 (A) | Semi-finals | Bayern Munich | 4–3 | 2–2 (A) | 2–1 (H) | ||||||||||||||||||||
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Borussia Dortmund qualified for the Champions League group stage by finishing as runners-up in the2022–23 Bundesliga. In the group stage, they were drawn into Group F, alongsideLigue 1 winnersParis Saint-Germain,Serie A fourth-place team Milan andPremier League fourth-place sideNewcastle United,[22] which was widely regarded as the 'group of death'.[23][24]
In Dortmund's opener of the group stage, they faced Paris Saint-Germain at theParc des Princes and lost 0–2, with goals fromKylian Mbappé andAchraf Hakimi.[25] On matchday 2, Dortmund drew in a 0–0 stalemate at theWestfalenstadion against Milan.[26] On matchday 3, Dortmund defeated Newcastle United away from home 1–0, with a goal fromFelix Nmecha.[27] On matchday 4, Dortmund won 2–0 over Newcastle United at home, with goals coming fromNiclas Füllkrug andJulian Brandt.[28] On matchday 5, Dortmund got a 3–1 win against Milan at theSan Siro, with goals byMarco Reus,Jamie Bynoe-Gittens andKarim Adeyemi, asSamuel Chukwueze got the temporary equaliser for the hosts.[29] On matchday 6, returning to the Westfalenstadion, the hosts held Paris Saint-Germain to a 1–1 draw, with a goal from Adeyemi and a strike fromWarren Zaïre-Emery for the visitors.[30]
In the round of 16, Dortmund were drawn against Dutch clubPSV Eindhoven. In the first leg held at thePhilips Stadion, Dortmund drew 1–1, with goals fromDonyell Malen andLuuk de Jong.[31] In the reverse leg, Dortmund defeated PSV 2–0, with goals fromJadon Sancho and Reus, to win 3–1 on aggregate and advance to the quarter-finals.[32]
In the quarter-finals, Dortmund were drawn against Spanish sideAtlético Madrid. In the first leg, at theMetropolitano Stadium, the Germans suffered a 1–2 loss, with goals being scored byRodrigo De Paul,Samuel Lino andSébastien Haller, whose late goal rescued Dortmund's chances for the progression.[33] In the second leg, Dortmund produced a 4–2 win at home, trailing down 3–4 on aggregate in the second half and qualifying to the semi-finals 5–4 on aggregate, as Brandt,Ian Maatsen, Füllkrug,Marcel Sabitzer,Mats Hummels (own goal) andÁngel Correa got on the scoresheet.[34]
In the semi-finals, Dortmund were drawn against Paris Saint-Germain, making it a rematch of this season's group stage clash. In the first leg, at the Westfalenstadion, a lone winner from Füllkrug gave Dortmund a 1–0 victory.[35] In the second leg, at the Parc des Princes, the visitors won 1–0 once again, with the only goal of the match coming from Hummels. Dortmund won 2–0 on aggregate to qualify for their first Champions League final in eleven years.[36]
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Real Madrid qualified for the Champions League group stage as2022–23 La Liga runners-up. They were drawn in Group C, alongside reigning Serie A championsNapoli, third placedPrimeira Liga teamBraga, and fourth placed Bundesliga teamUnion Berlin.[22]
Madrid went on to end the group stage recording an impressive 6 out of 6 wins in all games. The team opened the group stage at theSantiago Bernabéu against Union Berlin, with a lateJude Bellingham goal sealing a 1–0 win.[37] On matchday 2, the team grabbed a 3–2 away win against Napoli at theStadio Diego Armando Maradona, with finishes coming fromVinícius Júnior, Bellingham, and an own goal from Napoli goalkeeperAlex Meret, with goals coming fromLeo Østigård andPiotr Zieliński for the hosts.[38] On matchday 3, Madrid defeated Braga away 2–1, withRodrygo and Bellingham on the scoresheet, andÁlvaro Djaló scoring for his team.[39] On matchday 4, Madrid dominated Braga 3–0 at home with strikes fromBrahim Díaz, Vinícius, and Rodrygo.[40] On matchday 5, Madrid obtained a 4–2 home win against Napoli, with goals coming from Vinícius, Bellingham,Nico Paz, andJoselu, as well asGiovanni Simeone andAndré-Frank Zambo Anguissa on the scoresheet for the visitors.[41] On matchday 6, they obtained a 3–2 win away against Union Berlin, after a Joselu brace andDani Ceballos scoring the winner, with strikes fromKevin Volland andAlex Král for the hosts.[42]
In the round of 16, Madrid were drawn against German clubRB Leipzig. In the first leg held at theRed Bull Arena, a lone Brahim strike prevailed Madrid to a 1–0 away win.[43] In the second leg, Madrid were held to a 1–1 draw, despiteWilli Orbán scoring for his team, Vinícius's goal was enough for Madrid to advance 2–1 on aggregate.[44]
In the quarter-finals, Madrid were drawn against English champions andreigning UEFA Champions League winnersManchester City for the third consecutive season. The first leg at the Santiago Bernabéu ended in an intense 3–3 draw, in which goals fromBernardo Silva,Phil Foden, andJoško Gvardiol were denied by replies from aRúben Dias own goal, Rodrygo, andFederico Valverde.[45] The second leg at theCity of Manchester Stadium also ended in a draw, as Rodrygo's early goal was cancelled out by aKevin De Bruyne equaliser. The match ended 1–1 after extra time and went into the penalty shootout to decide the winner after a 4–4 aggregate draw. It was Madrid's first Champions League shootout since the 2016 final. GoalkeeperAndriy Lunin saved two crucial penalties from Silva andMateo Kovačić, with onlyLuka Modrić missing his spot kick for the visitors, whileAntonio Rüdiger scored the decisive final penalty to send his team to the semi-finals.[46]
In the semi-finals, Madrid were drawn against German champions Bayern Munich, the first "European Clásico" since the2017–18 UEFA Champions League season. In the first leg at theAllianz Arena, a Vinícius double cancelled goals coming fromLeroy Sané andHarry Kane for the hosts for a 2–2 draw.[47] In the second leg at the Santiago Bernabéu, with Madrid initially trailing from anAlphonso Davies goal, Joselu's double in the closing minutes of the game stunned the visitors to bring his team to a 2–1 victory in the match and 4–3 on aggregate, as they progressed to their sixth final in ten years.[48]
The visual identity of the 2024 UEFA Champions League final was unveiled at the group stage draw in Monaco on 31 August 2023.[49]
On 13 May 2024, Slovenian refereeSlavko Vinčić was appointed to take charge of the final by UEFA, along with fellow Slovenes Tomaž Klančnik and Andraž Kovačič asassistant referees, and Nejc Kajtazović as thevideo assistant referee.[2] The first three officials had previously officiated together in the2022 UEFA Europa League final.[50] They were joined by fellow countryman Rade Obrenović as assistant VAR and FrenchmanFrançois Letexier as the fourth official.[2]
On 16 May 2024, American singerLenny Kravitz was named as the headline act of the opening ceremony.[51] He performed with his band a medley of his songs: "Fly Away", "Human" and "Are You Gonna Go My Way".[52]
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The match kicked off at 20:00 local time with an attendance of 86,212 fans. In the 21st minute,Mats Hummels played a pass toKarim Adeyemi, who roundedThibaut Courtois by nudging the ball to the goalkeeper's right and attempting to shoot, butDani Carvajal tracked back to block his effort. Two minutes later, Adeyemi played a pass through the centre of the Madrid defence and releasedNiclas Füllkrug, who struck the woodwork. Dortmund then produced a counter-attack after Brandt played a pass to Adeyemi, who was unable to beat Courtois from a tight angle, with the latter stretching out to make the initial parry, before saving Füllkrug's follow-up attempt. There were four minutes of added time after a series ofpitch invasions earlier in the match.[53][54]
Neither side made any lineup changes during the interval. In the 49th minute,Toni Kroos whipped in a free kick towards the Dortmund penalty area, with Carvajal sending his header over the bar. Madrid continued their pressure asVinícius Júnior whipped a cross towards the penalty area, whichNico Schlotterbeck nodded straight to Carvajal, whose half-volley effort was blocked byIan Maatsen. Dortmund pushed again for a goal as Adeyemi played a cross into the penalty area towards Füllkrug, who managed to direct a powerful header that was saved by Courtois. Vinícius played another cross from the left flank to former Dortmund midfielderJude Bellingham, who missed the ball which flew inches wide of the post. Dortmund then made their first substitution of the final, as Adeyemi came off forMarco Reus.[53][54]
With 15 minutes to go, Carvajal gave Madrid the lead in the 74th minute, heading in Kroos' corner from the left. Madrid had another chance to score, withEduardo Camavinga cutting the ball back from the byline on the left to Bellingham, who looked to strike the ball pastGregor Kobel, only for Schlotterbeck to block his effort. Dortmund then made two attacking changes, as captainEmre Can andJulian Brandt came off forDonyell Malen andSébastien Haller. Madrid came close to scoring a second again, as Kobel saved Camavinga's effort from outside the box andNacho's header from a Kroos corner.[53][54]
In the 83rd minute, Maatsen played a pass that was intercepted by Bellingham, who teed up Vinícius to his left, with the latter taking a touch and putting the ball past Kobel to double Madrid's lead. Madrid then made their first changes as Bellingham and Kroos came off forJoselu andLuka Modrić. Dortmund made their last substitution, withJadon Sancho brought off forJamie Bynoe-Gittens. Dortmund thought they had pulled one back, as Malen played a cross into the penalty area to Füllkrug, who powered a header into the left-hand side of the net, leaving Courtois with no chance. However, the goal was immediately disallowed by the referee after Füllkrug was shown to be in an offside position. Madrid made their two other substitutions in stoppage time, withRodrygo and Vinícius brought off forÉder Militão andLucas Vázquez. The match ended after five minutes of stoppage time, with Madrid winning 2–0.[53][54]
The "home" team (for administrative purposes) was determined by an additional draw held after the quarter-final and semi-final draws.[55]
          Borussia Dortmund[4] |      Real Madrid[4] |
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Man of the Match: Assistant referees:[2] | Match rules[56]
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With the win, Real Madrid secured their record-extending 15th European Cup/Champions League title, and their sixth in the previous eleven seasons. It maintained Madrid's perfect final record in the Champions League era with nine wins, having last lost the final in 1981.[9] Madrid won the Champions Leagueunbeaten for the first time, with nine wins and four draws.[7] They also completed their fifthEuropean double (after1956–57,1957–58,2016–17 and2021–22), having won the2023–24 La Liga.[58]
Four Madrid players (Dani Carvajal, Toni Kroos, Luka Modrić, and Nacho) equalledPaco Gento's record of winning six European Cup/Champions League titles; all but Kroos have won all six of their titles with Real.[59] In addition, Carvajal joined Gento as the only players to start in six different winning finals in the competition. Madrid manager Carlo Ancelotti extended his record as themost successful manager in the competition's history, with his fifth title, and his third in charge ofLos Blancos.[60]
Meanwhile, Borussia Dortmund managerEdin Terzić stepped down from his role on 13 June 2024, nearly two weeks after losing the final. He stated that after the final, he asked for a meeting with the club's senior management team because he felt that "the club's new era should begin with a new man on the touchline", and wished Dortmund the very best.[61] The next day, Terzić's assistant and former Dortmund playerNuri Şahin was appointed as head coach on a three-year contract.[62]
After the game, theMetropolitan Police said that over 2,000 officers had been on duty for the game. 53 arrests had been made, mainly for trying to enter the stadium without a ticket and five arrests for entering the field of play. The game had only just kicked off when pitch invaders approached a number of the players.[63]
Three people were later charged with entering the field of play contrary to Section 4 of theFootball (Offences) Act 1991. Their court appearances were arranged for June and July 2024. The police said that most attempts to gain access to the ground without a ticket had been thwarted following an investment of £5 million, on new security lanes, improved fencing, additional stewards and ticket checks and their increased enforcement of thepublic spaces protection order, carried out after the mass unrest at the Euro 2020 final in July 2021.[64] A Russian vlogger, Andrey Burim, was later reported to have offered 30 millionrubles to anyone who entered the pitch with his handle on their t-shirts.[65]On 3 June, a Ukrainian man pled guilty atWestminster Magistrates' Court to entering the field of play and admitted he was inspired by Andrey Burim. He was fined £1,000, which was cut to £660 following his guilty plea. He was also ordered to pay £85 costs and a £264 witness surcharge.[66]
In Spain, the final was broadcast byTelevisión Española (TVE), with an average of 6.1 million viewers (48.8% of share) and a peak of 7.3 million (52.5% of share) at 22:44CEST.[67] In total, at least 10.4 million unique viewers watched the match at some point.[67] In addition, public streaming serviceRTVE Play gathered almost 800,000 unique viewers, with a total of 1.5 million views.[67] Post-match celebrations were followed by 3.2 million people.[67] Likewise, theMovistar Plus+ subscription platform broadcast the match, gathering 655,000 viewers.[68]
