The Ballon d’Or moves ever closer for Vinicius Jr! Winners and losers as Real Madrid’s brilliant Brazilian marks another Champions League final with a goal while Toni Kroos and Marco Reus get contrasting farewells

Exactly who everyone had down as the hero in the Champions League final, right? Carvajal has enjoyed his best season for Los Blancos in years, looking a player reborn at 32. And he grabbed the goal he very much deserved against Dortmund, the tiny right-back rising above everyone to nod home at the near post. It was his sixth goal of the season, but first in Europe since 2015.

He wasn’t bad at the other end, either, turning in a scrappy showing at full-back against the pacey Karim Adeyemi. He fought in 50/50s, and proved to be a valuable cool head late on when Dortmund scrambled for an equalising goal.

Madrid, in truth, didn’t have too many virtuosic performances here, such was the general disappointment of their showing. Instead, they relied on moments, and Carvajal provided the biggest one of all.

Adeyemi wouldn’t have believed his luck when he managed to stroll straight through the Madrid defence and meet Mats Hummels laser-focused through-ball midway into the first half. Chances this inviting normally don’t come around in Champions League finals.

However, with just Courtois to beat, the 22-year-old got it all wrong. The stepovers were nice. His second touch wasn’t. Not only did Adeyemi go the wrong way, darting off to Courtois’ right, his contact was heavy, too. He summoned every fibre of his being when attempting to correct his error, but it wasn’t enough. Carvajal recovered and the opportunity was gone.

This wasn’t the only opening afforded to Adeyemi on the night, but spurning that one-on-one will haunt his dreams for some time. He does deserve credit for getting the better of Carvajal on more than one occasion and for providing a couple of chances for his team-mates, though that will have been scant consolation when he was first forced to watch the Madrid right-back score a goal of his own from the substitutes’ bench and then witness Los Blancos lift the famous trophy.

How many of this Madrid team will feel they have a really shot at football’s top individual prize, the Ballon d’Or? Bellingham looked a fair bet after four months of the season, such was his rapid start in Madrid white. But in recent months, Vinicius has forced his way into the reckoning, and is now the front-runner heading into the summer tournaments.

In truth, he didn’t have his best game here, given a tough go of things by Hummels and Julian Ryerson. Still, the Brazilian was clinical when it mattered, burying the crucial second goal to wrap up the final. The Brazilian has now scored in his side’s last two Champions League final wins; you’d expect that the 23-year-old might grab a few more on the biggest stage.

And more broadly, it’s those moments that could make him the Ballon d’Or winner. He has now bettered his previous best mark of goals in a season, becoming so much more than a constant nuisance for opposing defenders. He is now, undisputedly, world-class, and deserves the kind of acknowledgment befitting of that status.

Marco Reus must f*cking hate Wembley. Eleven years ago, it was under the iconic arch that Jurgen Klopp’s Borussia Dortmund – a side containing Reus and Hummels – were vanquished by Bayern Munich in the Champions League final. Flash-forward to the present and he was left misty eyed in northwest London once again.

The manner of this defeat felt particularly cruel to the player fittingly dubbed the unluckiest man in football. When Reus was introduced 20 minutes from time, Dortmund were firmly in control of proceedings, with Madrid scarcely able to muster a shot on goal. However, like the evil geniuses they are, Los Blancos seemingly decided to go for the kill as soon as he came on. That his side collapsed immediately after his arrival off the bench was clearly not Reus’ fault, but that did not make the reality any less heart-breaking for anyone rooting for a happy ending.

Then again, perhaps this is the most fitting way for the German to bow out of his boyhood club. Dortmund are so often the bridesmaids and not the brides in both domestic and continental matters. No player can claim to match this vibe more closely than the long-suffering Reus. He departs as club legend, but without much silverware to boast about.

What a way to go out! Kroos surprised some with his decision to announce his retirement two weeks ago. He has been back to his best this season, and there seemed reason to believe that he had at least one more campaign in him. Still, he elected to hang his boots up all the same, setting the stage for a potentially dramatic finale in his final game of club football.

And he delivered. Kroos was as reliable as ever in central midfield, completing 97 percent of his passes, patrolling space, and putting two shots on target – while also assisting Carvajal’s opener. Madrid’s midfield looked shaky at times, but Kroos was the man who tied it all together.

There were so many narratives to follow here: Reus’ last game for Dortmund, Bellingham’s lightning start to his Madrid career, and Edin Terzic potentially claiming a European trophy for club he has supported all his life. But instead, Kroos won out, perhaps the best ending of them all for a true legend of the game.

The first tackle here wasn’t put in on a player. Rather, it came on a Wembley pitch invader, as Sabitzer prevented a supporter from making further ground onto the pitch.

The opening of the contest was rather halted by chaos early, as four supporters stormed onto the Wembley turf, and attempted to take selfies with Bellingham and Vinicius. They weren’t exactly halted quickly, either, as the quartet scampered around the pitch for nearly a minute before being arraigned, while a fifth was narrowly prevented from doing the same.

It continued a poor run for Wembley’s security team, who have proven grossly incompetent around major footballing events – most notably when the Euro 2020 final descend into chaos with fans flowing into the stadium at will.

Football eventually transpired following the disturbance here, but it was a forgettable start for those in charge.