Jude Bellingham described becoming a Champions League winner as the best night of his life after helping Real Madrid down his former club Borussia Dortmund at Wembley Stadium.
Madrid clinched a record-extending 15th European crown on Saturday, claiming a hard-fought 2-0 win over Dortmund, who spurned several clear opportunities in the first half.
Dani Carvajal headed in Toni Kroos' corner for the 74th-minute breakthrough, before an Ian Maatsen error allowed Bellingham to slip in Vinicius Junior for a late second.
At the age of 20 years and 338 days, Bellingham became the third-youngest player to start a Champions League final for Madrid, after Iker Casillas in 2000 (19 years, four days) and Raul in 1998 (20 years, 327 days).
He also became the third-youngest English player to do so with any team after Trent Alexander-Arnold in 2018 (19 years, 231 days) and Owen Hargreaves in 2001 (20 years, 123 days).
Speaking to TNT Sports immediately after the full-time whistle, Bellingham was lost for words to describe the feeling of becoming a European champion.
"I've always dreamed of playing in these games," he said. "You go through life and there are so many people saying you can't do things and days like today remind you why you do it.
"When it gets hard at times you start to wonder if it's all worth it. Nights like tonight make it all worth it.
"I was okay until I saw my Mum and Dad's faces. The nights they could have been home at seven o'clock but they were still out at eleven or twelve taking me to football.
"My little brother there who I am trying to be a role model for too... it's hard to put it into words. It's the best night of my life."
Real Madrid head coach Carlo Ancelotti felt winning the European Cup for a record-extending 15th time on Saturday had been much more difficult than expected for the Spanish champions.
Los Blancos needed two late goals from Dani Carvajal and Vinicius Junior to beat Germany's Borussia Dortmund 2-0 in the Champions League final at Wembley.
"I never get used to it, because it was difficult, very difficult, more than expected," Ancelotti told Movistar Plus+.
"In the first half we were a bit lazy, we had losses and they [Dortmund] were able to play how they wanted, but in the second half we were better and more balanced, with fewer losses.
"This is a dream that continues. I don't know what is going to happen tonight, but we are not going to sleep!"
Ancelotti added to TNT Sports: "It seems a dream but it is reality. Really happy for sure. A final is always like this [with good and bad parts of the game].
"We were able to win, it was a fantastic season and we are really happy to be able to win the cup again."
Asked how Madrid are able to keep winning the Champions League, he replied: "It is the history and tradition of the club and of course the quality of the players.
"The club is a family, we work all together without problems and the atmosphere is really good in the dressing room.
"I need to thank the club and the players, no big egos, really humble, it was not difficult to manage the squad this season."
Carvajal also acknowledged Madrid had been fortunate to escape from a first half where Dortmund squandered a host of good goalscoring opportunities.
"After the first half we had, we didn't even deserve to go the changing room with a level score, but this is football and we are very, very happy," said defender Carvajal, who scored the first goal by heading in Toni Kroos’ corner.
For Dortmund, it was another Champions League final loss at Wembley, which also hosted their 2013 defeat by domestic rivals Bayern Munich.
"At the moment we are bitterly disappointed," said Dortmund keeper Gregor Kobel. "Against Real you don’t get too many chances and they always become dangerous.
"We had our chances and should have done a bit more.
"We are still disappointed, but 100% it was a huge success to come here and play this game, so we are very proud."
Borussia Dortmund's hopes of sending Marco Reus off with a Champions League title ended in heartbreak as they lost 2-0 to Real Madrid on Saturday.
After 12 years with his boyhood club, Reus announced the Wembley showpiece would be his final match for Dortmund.
But despite a dominant first-half performance, they could not beat the serial winners, who scored two late goals through Dani Carvajal and Vinicius Junior to win their 15th European crown.
Edin Terzic’s side were given just a 21.4 per cent chance of victory by the Opta supercomputer before kick-off, but they came out of the blocks quickly with the aim of flipping the script.
Dortmund’s expected goals (xG) figure of 1.68 in the opening period was the largest by a team in the first half of a Champions League final on record (since 2013-14), and was also the highest by an opponent against Madrid in the first half this term.
Their two big chances fell to Niclas Fullkrug and Karim Adeyemi, the former striking the post and the latter forcing a good save out of Thibaut Courtois, having earlier wasted a one-on-one chance with the Belgian goalkeeper.
The German team were solid in defence too, forcing Madrid into half-time without having a single shot on target – the first time that has happened to any team in a Champions League final since Tottenham versus Liverpool in 2019.
Julian Brandt looked to be key for the Black and Yellow, creating four chances, the most in a Champions League final since Luka Modric against Atletico Madrid in 2015-16 (seven), though that tally would be equalled by Toni Kroos in the second half.
Reus was brought on for his 424th and final BVB appearance in the 72nd minute, hoping to sign off in the perfect way, but it was another departing German that soon caught the eye.
Kroos, playing for Madrid for the last time ahead of his retirement, set up Carvajal for Madrid’s opener just two minutes later.
Gregor Kobel saved 46 of the 56 shots on target he faced this season in the competition, and he made three big stops to keep Dortmund in the contest at 1-0.
However, an Ian Maatsen mistake led to Madrid’s second, with Dortmund conceding in the final 15 minutes of a Champions League game for the first time this campaign as Jude Bellingham slipped in Vinicius to convert.
Dortmund have now only won one of their last five finals in major European competitions (3-1 versus Juventus in the 1997 Champions League), losing each of their last three in a row (against Feyenoord in 2002, Bayern Munich in 2013 and Madrid in 2024).
Borussia Dortmund left everything out there on the Wembley Stadium turf, but everything was not enough. For the Champions League belongs to Real Madrid, and to Toni Kroos.
Los Blancos captured their record-extending 15th European crown with a hard-fought 2-0 win over BVB on Saturday, with second-half goals from Dani Carvajal and Vinicius Junior punishing Edin Terzic's men for a series of misses.
For all the star power available to them, for all the talk of destiny pitting Jude Bellingham against his former club at the home of English football, Madrid just seem to have a knack for finding unlikely heroes, and Carvajal certainly fits that category.
The identity of Madrid's opening scorer may have been a surprise, but that of the man who created it was not.
In the final game of his storied club career, it was Kroos whose pinpoint corner was glanced home by Carvajal. By the time Kroos was substituted to a rousing ovation in the 85th minute, Ian Maatsen's error had allowed Vinicius in to make the victory safe.
This win was not straightforward, though. With Madrid, things rarely are.
Madrid's road to Wembley was not quite as dramatic as the frankly ridiculous series of events that led to them winning their 14th crown in 2021-22.
On that occasion, Carlo Ancelotti's men pulled off a series of increasingly unlikely rescue acts to break the hearts of Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and Manchester City before Thibaut Courtois kept Liverpool at bay in the final.
They still faced their share of adversity this time around, though.
Having come under fierce pressure against RB Leipzig in the last 16, they made a dismal start to the home leg of their quarter-final against Manchester City, Phil Foden putting them on the back foot within two minutes. Within another 12, Madrid found themselves 2-1 up.
After a pulsating 3-3 draw, they needed a desperate rearguard action to negotiate 120 minutes at the Etihad Stadium. Pep Guardiola's all-conquering machine fired off shot after shot – 33 in total, the most in any Champions League knockout game since Liverpool attempted 34 against Atletico Madrid in March 2020.
But the ball simply would not go in after Kevin De Bruyne cancelled out Rodrygo's opener, setting the stage for Andriy Lunin's penalty shoot-out heroics to send Madrid through.
In the last four, they produced their best impression of the class of 2022, former Stoke City and Newcastle United man Joselu – much maligned when he arrived on loan last June after a failure to lure Kylian Mbappe – stepping off the bench with a last-gasp brace to stun Bayern Munich.
Ahead of Saturday's match, Madrid had only trailed for 7.5 per cent of their total game time in the Champions League this season (90 minutes out of 1,200), the lowest percentage of any side.
They had, however, won four matches after falling behind, with only Barcelona in 1999-00 and Los Blancos themselves in 2016-17 (five each) ever recording more comeback wins in a single edition of the tournament.
Resilience, aura, whatever you want to call it, Madrid have it by the bucketload.
Onto the final. Madrid were again slow out of the traps, even the effortlessly cool Ancelotti looking slightly ruffled as Dortmund's excellent transition play caught them out time and again.
Madrid were caught flat-footed when Mats Hummels released Karim Adeyemi through on goal midway through the first half, yet the youngster's touch past Courtois took him too far wide and Carvajal recovered with a vital challenge. That was warning number one.
Warning number two came when Maatsen slipped Niclas Fullkrug through on goal two minutes later. There was a hint of offside as the Germany striker stretched to prod goalwards, but an even bigger hint of fortune for Madrid as the ball bounced off the inside of the post and found its way to safety.
Another six minutes later, warning number three as Adeyemi beat Carvajal in another footrace, his low strike from the angle working Courtois again.
Madrid became the first team to fail to record a shot on target in the first half of a Champions League final since Tottenham versus Liverpool in 2019. Their total of two first-half attempts was their joint-fewest in 55 games this season.
Dortmund had them on the ropes, but like Leipzig, City and Bayern, they failed to deliver the knockout blow.
For all the exuberance of Terzic's team, for all the noise and colour brought by the Yellow Wall behind them, the outcome somehow felt inevitable, and so it proved.
Kroos began finding his range early in the second half, testing Gregor Kobel with a clever free-kick from near the corner of the area before seeing another set-piece nodded over the top by Carvajal – a sighter for the right-back.
Dortmund continued to threaten at the other end, though, with Courtois again worked by Fullkrug's diving header just after the hour mark.
The big moment, as is so often the case when Madrid are involved, seemed to come out of nowhere.
One perfect swing of Kroos' right boot, one inch-perfect corner delivery, and Dortmund were on the back foot.
A Dortmund recovery never looked likely from there, with Madrid slotting into cruise (or should we say Kroos?) control.
The midfielder led all 22 starters for touches (108), passes attempted (94), and passes completed (91), while only Ferland Mendy, with perfect distribution, bettered his passing accuracy (96.8 per cent). Dortmund's Julian Brandt matched his four chances created.
At half-time, Kroos might have looked jaded as Madrid's midfield was caught cold by Dortmund's rapid transition play. By full-time, he was the coolest man at Wembley.
When it comes to the big moments, Madrid just know how to dial it up. Perhaps no player quite personifies that trait like Kroos.
When announcing his retirement last month, Kroos said he wished to go out at the very top.
By joining Carvajal, Nacho and Luka Modric in winning six European crowns, a feat only previously achieved by Paco Gento, he has certainly accomplished that.
Real Madrid were crowned kings of Europe for a record-extending 15th time with a 2-0 victory over Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final at Wembley on Saturday.
Huge favourites going into the game, the Spanish side were outplayed for long periods but broke Dortmund's resistance with late goals from Dani Carvajal and Vinicius Junior.
Veteran right back Carvajal glanced in a header from a Toni Kroos corner in the 74th minute and from that moment Carlo Ancelotti's side sparked into life.
Vinicius slid home Madrid's second in the 83rd minute to silence the yellow-clad Dortmund fans who had created a wall of noise throughout the final.
It was hard on the German side who missed several good first-half chances, the best of which saw Niclas Fullkrug hit the post from close range.
Data Debrief: Madrid deliver unbeaten campaign
Victory in the final meant Madrid had gone through a whole European Cup or Champions League campaign without defeat for the first time.
Ancelotti's side won nine and drew four of their 13 matches this season, not losing any. They are the second LaLiga team to achieve the feat, as Barcelona also managed it in 2005-06 under Frank Rijkaard.
The match also saw Vinicius (aged 23 years and 325 days) become the youngest player to score in two Champions League finals, having also netted against Liverpool in their 2022 triumph.
Elina Svitolina will face Elena Rybakina in a marquee fourth-round tie at the French Open after successfully moving into the second week.
The Ukrainian defeated Ana Bogdan 7-5 6-2 on Saturday to reach the last 16 for the sixth time in her career.
Both players struggled on serve, with 11 breaks in total during the match, but it was Svitolina who ultimately emerged triumphant after a back-and-forth contest and a rain delay, firing 28 winners.
Fifteenth seed Svitolina will now hope to halt the Paris charge of fourth seed Rybakina, who is yet to drop a set at the tournament so far. It will be a tough ask, but Svitolina does lead the head-to-head 2-1.
An all-American clash between Madison Keys and Emma Navarro on Court Suzanne-Lenglen was one of the other standout matches.
Navarro had never before reached the fourth round at a major, while Keys was a former semi-finalist at Roland-Garros.
But it was Navarro who claimed a hard-fought victory, getting the better of two tie-breaks to win 7-6 (7-5) 7-6 (7-3) to book a huge clash against second seed Aryna Sabalenka.
Jasmine Paolini is also through to round four after seeing off former US Open champion Bianca Andreescu 6-1 3-6 6-0.
Mirra Andreeva, meanwhile, is the youngest player to reach the French Open last 16 since Nicole Vaidisova in 2006 after beating Peyton Stearns in straight sets.
The 17-year-old raced to a 6-2 6-1 win in only 67 minutes.
Sabalenka and Rybakina had earlier completed routine victories over Paula Badosa and Elise Mertens respectively.
Nicholas Pooran says West Indies are desperate to recapture the magic of 2012 and 2016 at this year's T20 World Cup, as they target a third title at the tournament.
The Windies are one of only two teams, alongside England (2010 and 2022) to win multiple 20-over world crowns, having gone back-to-back when now-head coach Daren Sammy was captain in 2012 and 2016.
They will co-host this year's tournament alongside the United States, with Papua New Guinea their opponents for their opening Group C match on Sunday.
West Indies failed to advance beyond the first round when Pooran was skipper at the 2022 tournament, finishing bottom of a group containing Zimbabwe, Ireland and Scotland.
Pooran is no longer captain, having passed that honour onto Rovman Powell, but he is determined to play a part in bringing back the feel-good factor.
"Coming back in here after two years, everybody wants to get that special feeling we had when we won those two T20 World Cups," Pooran told ESPNcricinfo.
"I feel like everybody wants that moment again. They want to be a part of that winning feeling. Doing it in front of our fans is even more special."
Pooran's 1,848 T20I runs are the most accumulated by any player to make the Windies' squad for this year's World Cup, as are his 88 T20I matches played.
He is certain they have improved since the last edition of the tournament, adding: "We all have grown as players, as team-mates as well.
"When we played in Australia where we didn't qualify, everyone was hurt. I resigned from captaincy after that. Everyone was hurt, but we are no longer that group of guys.
"We all know what's at stake here. We all know that we have an opportunity to redeem ourselves, to make our cricket fans in the Caribbean and our cricket fans all over the world proud of us.
"This time around we are much better players as well. Most of our guys that play franchise cricket, they understand what is needed to be a professional."
Pooran enters the tournament after scoring 499 runs in this season's Indian Premier League for Lucknow Super Giants.
He scored those runs at a superb average of 62.37, which was the best mark achieved by any player, and had a strike-rate of 178.21, helped by smashing 36 sixes.
Alexander Zverev reached the fourth round of the French Open with a thrilling five-set win over Tallon Griekspoor, finding a second wind after a stirring rally from the Dutchman.
Zverev triumphed 3-6 6-4 6-2 4-6 7-6 (10-3) at the end of a gruelling four-hour, 17-minute contest on Court Philippe-Chatrier, teeing up a last-16 meeting with Holger Rune or Jozef Kovalik.
Zverev looked to have weathered an early storm when he fought back after losing the opener to go 2-1 up, but Griekspoor refused to go away and came roaring back in the fourth set, which lasted almost an hour.
The world number four appeared to be up against it when he was broken in the first game of the decider, and his frustrations got the better of him as he yelled at the umpire before being broken again.
However, he immediately hit back with two breaks of his own to go from 4-1 down to 4-4, eventually forcing a decisive tie-break.
He found another gear from there, sapping Griekspoor's confidence with some excellent play at the net, with a fine passing shot past his stranded opponent a highlight before he clinched victory with an ace.
Data Debrief: Zverev gathering momentum
Having warmed up for Roland Garros by winning the Italian Open, Zverev has now won nine straight matches on clay for the first time since 2018, when he won 13 consecutive contests on the surface at Munich, Madrid and Rome.
Scotland striker Lyndon Dykes has been ruled out of Euro 2024 after picking up an injury in training on Friday.
While preparing for their upcoming friendly against Gibraltar, Dykes left the training pitch on a stretcher with an apparent knee injury.
On Saturday, Scotland confirmed that the 28-year-old will miss the tournament, though the injury has not been specified.
Dykes has scored nine goals for Scotland in 36 appearances, and played in all eight of their Euro 2024 qualifiers, scoring once.
Steve Clarke's side will begin the tournament against hosts Germany in the opening match on June 14.
Daniil Medvedev dug deep to hold off Tomas Machac's threat in the French Open third round, claiming a 7-6 (7-4), 7-5, 1-6, 6-4 victory on Saturday.
Medvedev was pushed all the way to a first-set tie-break but took the opener, spurred on by an electric atmosphere on Court Suzanne Lenglen, before storming through the second.
Machac, who shocked Novak Djokovic in the Geneva Open semi-final last week, refused to back down, and soared through the third set, though he could not hold onto his building momentum.
With the prospect of a deciding set creeping closer, Medvedev rallied and held off a stubborn Machac, gaining a decisive break in the 10th game of the final set before a mistake from the Czech gifted him the victory.
Medvedev, who is chasing a second major, will face either Alex de Minaur or Jan-Lennard Struff in the fourth round.
Data Debrief: Medvedev hits form on clay
Medvedev has a win percentage of 76 per cent on clay since 2023 in ATP events, compared to just 44 per cent on the same surface between 2016 and 2022.
The world number five has now reached the round of 16 for the 15th time in his career at Grand Slams; only Marat Safin, Mikhail Youzhny and Yevgeny Kafelnikov have reached the fourth round more often in Grand Slams amongst Russians.
After a sub-par showing on last, reigning World 200m champion Shericka Jackson will definitely be hoping to make the Stockholm Diamond League meet a memorable one on Sunday.
The 29 year-old Jamaican sprinter has gone faster than anyone over 200m except 1988 Olympic champion Florence Griffith Joyner.
However, a fifth place at the Oslo Diamond League on Thursday raised questions about Jackson’s fitness ahead of this Summer’s Paris Olympic Games. Still, Jackson is as determined as athletes come and she will no doubt look to assuage concerns with a speedy time in Stockholm.
On the other hand, American Brittany Brown will look to rattle her confidence once more. Brown scored an upset victory with a time of 22.32 seconds in Oslo. The result has vaulted the American sprinter into the Olympic selection conversation ahead of their Olympic Team Trials in late June.
Brown is slated to run both the 100m and 200m in Stockholm. Gambia’s Gina Bass, Cote d’Ivoire’s Marie-Josee Ta Lou-Smith and Jamaica’s Natasha Morrison will also line up in the 100m, while Jackson and fellow Americans Anavia Battle and Jenna Prandini will be Brown’s biggest rivals in the 200m.
Jamaica’s Ryiem Forde Forde will have his hands full in the men’s 100m, as he faces Japanese Hakim Sani Brown, the runner-up in Oslo, Emmanuel Eseme of Cameroon, and American Kyree King.
Rushell Clayton's rich vein of form to be tested by Femke Bol.
Another highly anticipated women’s track event is the 400m hurdles, where in-form Jamaican Rushell Clayton will lock horns with Dutch world champion Femke Bol, who will make her season debut in the event at Stockholm’s Olympic stadium.
Clayton has grown from strength to strength since copping bronze at last year’s World Championships. She secured victories in Oslo on Thursday, and prior to that, won in Rabat, as well as at the Jamaica Athletics Invitational Meet, where she clocked a season’s best 53.72s. She will again be joined by compatriots Andrenette Knight and Janieve Russell, who were a part of the Jamaican sweep of the podium at the in Oslo, with World champion Bol now joining the party.
World Championships silver medallist Kyron McMaster of the British Virgin Islands is expected to be one of the toughest rivals for Alison Dos Santos of Brazil in the men’s 400m hurdles.
But McMaster will have much to do, as Dos Santos has been holding superb form and is undefeated in the event. Dos Santos has won both of his races on the Diamond League circuit this year in impressive times, the most recent being a season’s best 46.63s-clocking in Oslo.
Meanwhile, the women’s triple jump seems headed to be a Caribbean affair with world indoor champion Thea Lafond of Dominica, two-time World Championships silver medallist Shanieka Ricketts of Jamaica, and world indoor silver medallist, Leyanis Perez Hernandez of Cuba again set to battle for the podium spots. Another Jamaican Kimberley Williams will be aiming to improve on her recent performances.
Elsewhere in the field, Fedrick Dacres and Danniel Thomas-Dodd will also be hoping to improve their form in the men’s discus and women’s shot put respectively.
World Cup cricket has officially arrived in the United States, with the historic opening match of the ICC Men's T20 World Cup 2024 between USA and Canada at Grand Prairie Stadium set to open the ninth edition of the event on Saturday.
The final 24 hours ahead of the opening match in Texas saw cricket being beamed to new audiences across America like never before as the country prepares to co-host an ICC World Cup event for the first time.
Headlining the excitement, was a lighting projection show that featured all 20 captains of the largest ICC Men's T20 World Cup ever on to the Rockefeller Centre Building in New York City. Each of the captains from the four groups were featured above the busy streets of Manhattan on the facade of 30 Rockefeller.
Ahead of the NBA Finals Series, Bangladesh and India captains Rohit Sharma and Najmul Shanto were able to pick-up the famous Larry O'Brien Trophy as part of a collaboration with the league.
Both captains were getting their first look at the 34,000 seat Nassau County International Stadium ahead of Saturday's warm-up fixture at the same venue.
Everton will "assess all options" regarding the club's ownership after a proposed takeover by 777 Partners fell through on Saturday.
Majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri agreed to sell his 94 per cent stake in the club to the US-based consortium last September, but the Premier League refused to sign off on the takeover.
The deal was repeatedly delayed as 777 failed to meet the Premier League's required conditions of ownership, though the consortium provided financial support to the club for several months.
Everton lost eight points to two deductions in 2023-24 for breaching the Premier League's profit and sustainability rules, but still finished 14 points clear of the relegation zone.
Moshiri is now looking for alternative buyers to come forward, with Crystal Palace co-owner John Textor having expressed an interest in investing last month.
The club said in a statement: "The agreement between 777 Partners and Blue Heaven Holdings Limited for the sale and purchase of the majority shareholding in the club expired today.
"The board of directors recognises the considerable level of financial support 777 Partners has provided the club over recent months and would like to take this opportunity to thank them for this.
"The club will continue to operate as usual while it works with Blue Heaven Holdings to assess all options for the club's future ownership.
"The board of directors would like to thank everyone connected to Everton for their patience over recent months and reiterate its commitment to providing further updates when it is appropriate to do so through the club's official communication channels."
Aryna Sabalenka recovered from a slow start to eventually advance to the French Open last 16 a commanding 7-5 6-1 victory over best friend Paula Badosa.
The second seed trailed 4-2 and was a break down in the opening set, but went on to win 11 of the next 13 games to seal a fourth-round clash with either Madison Keys or Emma Navarro.
Sabalenka has dropped just seven games in her opening two matches at Roland-Garros.
Although, it looked like she may lose the opening set when a fortuitous net shot gave Badosa a second break and a 4-2 lead on Court Philippe-Chatrier.
However, she dug deep from 5-3 adrift, winning the last four games to draw first blood.
The reigning Australian Open champion broke her opponent a further two times on the way to a commanding 4-0 advantage in the second.
Badosa did well to save three match points from 0-40 in game six, but the Spaniard could not rescue a fourth as her opponent continued her surge into the second week.
Data Debrief: Sabalenka completes top four in last 16
Following on from her victories when they met in Miami and Stuttgart earlier this season, Sabalenka became the first player to beat Badosa three times at WTA events in a calendar year.
Joining Iga Swiatek, Coco Gauff and Elena Rybakina, this marks the first time since 2013 that the top four seeds are through to the last 16 in the women's singles at Roland-Garros.
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