Dortmund vs Real Madrid combined XI: Bellingham and Co. dominate as Sancho misses out
Real Madrid are the heavy favourites to beat Borussia Dortmund and this combined XI suggests Los Blancos will leave Wembley as Champions League winners…
Dortmund 2-9 Real Madrid…
GK: Thibaut Courtois (Real Madrid)
Andriy Lunin earned plaudits for stepping up in the Belgium international’s absence, but Courtois’ recent return to fitness will cost the backup a start at Wembley.
It’s a shame for Lunin as he’s played a vital role for Real Madrid, who have defied the odds (via some unexpected Joselu brilliance) to reach another Champions League final. Courtois may lack match sharpness but he is still one of the best goalkeepers in the world and it’s a surprise that he is not in Domenico Tedesco’s squad for Euro 2024.
RB: Dani Carvajal (Real Madrid)
Injury niggles have ensured this has been a stop-start season for the 32-year-old and Liverpool’s Trent Alexander-Arnold could eventually replace him if the pesky Spanish media are to be believed.
Still, Carvajal remains a quality operator and has enough up his sleeve to edge himself ahead of Dortmund right-back Julian Ryerson.
CB: Mats Hummels (Dortmund)
Oh joy, a Dortmund inclusion!
Hummels feels “bitter” after being omitted from Germany’s Euro 2024 squad and he has a point. The 35-year-old has rolled back the years and was imperious at the heart of Dortmund’s defence as Edin Terzic’s side kept two clean sheets against Paris-Saint Germain en route to reaching the Champions League final.
CB: Antonio Rudiger (Real Madrid)
Erling Haaland’s kryptonite, Rudiger deserves much of the credit for Real Madrid advancing to this year’s final as he masterfully did a job on the Manchester City goal machine as Carlo Ancelotti got one other Pep Guardiola in his side’s sh*thouse penalty shoot win in the quarter-finals.
Rudiger may have to produce a similar level of performance if Real Madrid are to keep Dortmund’s striker quiet at Wembley…
LB: Ferland Mendy (Real Madrid)
It’s been difficult to justify including two Dortmund stars in this XI and some formation jiggery-pokery was required to make it happen, but if there was going to be a third representative from the Bundesliga side, it would have come from left-back with Chelsea loanee Ian Maatsen.
Chelsea have made foolish decisions aplenty under the Todd Boehly regime (with sacking Mauricio Pochettino their worst yet) and Maatsen’s form in Germany suggests they made an error letting him out on loan, especially given Ben Chilwell’s injury woes.
However, he is not quite yet at the level of Mendy, who is somewhat harshly set to be ushered to the periphery with Bayern Munich’s Alphonso Davies a leading summer target for Real Madrid.
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CM: Federico Valverde (Real Madrid)
Former Premier League stars Marcel Sabitzer and Emre Can have come of age for Dortmund, but they are still likely to be outclassed by Real Madrid’s abundance of top-quality options in the middle of the pitch.
25-year-old Valverde’s relentless work rate will be important in the final as his selfless efforts give Real Madrid’s attackers the platform to exploit opponents with rapid counter-attacks.
CM: Aurelien Tchouameni (Real Madrid)
The role of defensive protector Tchouameni is perhaps equally important as Valverde is to Real Madrid and the France international is primed to step out from under the shadow of club legends Toni Kroos and Luka Modric in the coming seasons.
RW: Rodrygo (Real Madrid)
The 23-year-old is expected to be the main ‘victim’ of Kylian Mbappe’s arrival at the Bernabeu and this could eventually see him move to the Premier League. As a replacement for Mohamed Salah at Liverpool, perhaps?
While the Brazil international is not clinical enough to be classed as one of the best wingers in the world, he often delivers for Real Madrid in the Champions League and against Manchester City especially. So sorry Jadon Sancho, there’s no place for you in this team.
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CAM: Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid)
He was always going to be good at Real Madrid, but few anticipated the England international making such a remarkable impact in such a short space of time.
Bellingham’s mentality and natural talent ensured he would be a sure-fire success for Real Madrid, but he has taken no time to settle into his new surroundings and in an unfamiliar position, he has further established himself as a future Ballon d’Or (and European Championship *wink wink*) winner.
LW: Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid)
One of the main battles on Saturday evening will be between two electric left-wingers as Real Madrid’s Vinicius and Dortmund’s Karim Adeyemi attempt to give their respective opponents at full-back a torrid time.
Like Rodrygo, Vinicius is guilty of being wasteful with chances in certain moments but can decide a game at any moment, so he’s the best potential replacement for Mbappe at PSG if he were to become available at some point.
ST: Niclas Fullkrug (Dortmund)
Apologies to former Stoke City flop Joselu, but his heroics against Bayern Munich were not enough to nudge him ahead of Dortmund centre-forward Fullkrug, who converted in the semi-final against PSG to grab his 26th goal involvement of the season.
Ancelotti’s utilisation of a modernised version of the old-school 4-4-f***ing-2 formation (with Rodrygo and Vinicius operating as strikers) has worked wonders, but Fullkrug is a beneficiary as we opt for a more fashionable 4-2-3-1 set-up.
The 31-year-old does not exactly have the same goalscoring prowess as ex-Dortmund star Haaland, but he would not have to do much in the final to outdo the City man’s efforts against Real Madrid in the quarters.
