Champions League final live: Borussia Dortmund vs. Real Madrid ...

Sat, June 1, 2024 at 9:04 PM GMT+2

The game kicks off... and within 20 seconds, somehow, a fan makes his way onto the field, right to the center circle, seemingly uncontested.

And then, 30 seconds later, a second pitch invader joins him.

Great start, everyone. Great start.

Sat, June 1, 2024 at 8:54 PM GMT+2

Especially 10 minutes before kickoff.

Please, UEFA, let the Dortmund fans sing.

Sat, June 1, 2024 at 8:52 PM GMT+2

Dortmund's best chance today would seem to revolve around the right half-space.

Jadon Sancho and Julian Brandt are BVB's most impactful attacking players. Toni Kroos, who'll likely play on the left side of Real Madrid's midfield, is 34 and will be the least mobile player on the pitch. Kroos is brilliant with the ball at his feet, of course, but can be a liability without it.

Expect Dortmund to try to attack the space that Kroos is supposed to patrol, and then run at Ferland Mendy and Nacho on the left side of Real Madrid's defense.

(The pressure, in turn, will be on Eduardo Camavinga to slide over from his defensive midfield position, and make up for Kroos' defensive frailty

Sat, June 1, 2024 at 8:45 PM GMT+2

????✨ Toni Kroos’ boots ready for his last club game ever, last game ever for Real Madrid.

Wembley, Champions League final. pic.twitter.com/K0Gyl2KgVs

Sat, June 1, 2024 at 8:44 PM GMT+2

Knockout soccer — whether at the World Cup, or in the Champions League, or domestic cups, whatever — is notoriously random.

Just look at Manchester City, winner of the world's toughest domestic league six of the past seven years. During that stretch, City has only made two Champions League finals, and only won one (by a single goal).

All of that is what makes Real Madrid's record in Europe so remarkable. For one team to win the world's top competition more often than not over a span of 11 years — which what Madrid can achieve today — would be bonkers.

Sat, June 1, 2024 at 8:31 PM GMT+2

This is the ultimate establishment-vs.-anti-establishment final.

Real Madrid are the kings of European football. Since the very first edition of the European Cup (1955-56), which they won (just like the next four as well), they've held that title. They've now won the competition twice as much as anybody else. They're one of the richest clubs in the world — if not the richest. They have outsize political pull in Spain and at UEFA. They even tried to reshape European soccer around their power — by launching the Super League. Three years later, they're still championing the "project."

Dortmund, meanwhile, were a key Super League holdout. Their opposition helped ensure it collapsed. They — club officials and fans alike — have regularly spoken out against the rampant commercialization of football, both in Germany and Europe. They've resisted dirty money. They still carry a very Jurgen Klopp-ian, upstart ethos.

Dortmund, of course, has money too. Its annual revenue ranked 12th in the world last year. But its €420 million was roughly half as much as Madrid's haul. This is mismatch, on the field and off it, financially and culturally — all of it.

Sat, June 1, 2024 at 8:14 PM GMT+2

So, here we are. Wembley. Real Madrid. And a Champions League final that many think is a foregone conclusion.

Madrid has 14 European titles; Dortmund has one.

Madrid won its domestic league going away; Dortmund finished fifth in Germany

But other finals that felt similarly — Bayern Munich-Chelsea in 2012, Man City-Inter Milan last year — have been much tighter than expected. No matter what it looks like on paper, the best bet is that we'll get an entertaining (or at least interesting and contested) game.

Sat, June 1, 2024 at 8:01 PM GMT+2

Sat, June 1, 2024 at 7:56 PM GMT+2