Jamie Carragher claims Borussia Dortmund will be ‘devastated’ by Real Madrid reaching Champions League final
Madrid will face Dortmund in the Champions League final after beating Bayern Munich.
Borussia Dortmund will be ‘devastated’ to be playing Real Madrid and not Bayern Munich in the Champions League final, Jamie Carragher reckons.
It seemed as if we were heading for another all-German final at Wembley after Bayern went ahead in their semi-final against Real on Wednesday night.
But two very late goals from substitute Joselu turned the tie on its head and sent the Spanish champions through to a record-extending 18th UCL final.
They’ll face Dortmund who stunned PSG in their semi-final and who will play in only their third ever final and their first since losing to Bayern at Wembley in 2013.
One might expect that Dortmund would be happy to see Bayern lose and avoid another daunting clash against them, but Carragher believes Dortmund would have been ‘desperate’ to take on their Der Klassiker rivals.
‘[Real Madrid] they’ll be huge favourites,’ the Liverpool legend said on CBS.
‘I actually think Borussia Dortmund will be devastated as well. They will because they’re playing Real Madrid in the European Cup final.
‘They will have felt that they know Bayern Munich better, they beat them the last time they played them away from home.
‘I think Borussia Dortmund watching at home they’ll have been desperate to play against Bayern Munich.’
It is true that Der BVB won in Munich 2-0 in March, though it should be noted that they lost the reverse fixture back in November 4-0.
As Carragher mentions, Real will be the heavy favourites to win the Champions League for a record-extending 15th time, with their efforts this season spearheaded by English superstar Jude Bellingham.
The midfielder signed from Dortmund only last summer in a deal worth up to £115million, and the 20-year-old cannot believe that his first final will pit him up against his former club.
‘It’s mad. I can’t believe it. It could only happen like this,’ Bellingham said post-match.
‘My first final. In England, against Dortmund. Credit to them, they deserve their place in the final.
‘It’ll be nice to see some old friends. I’ll think I’ll turn my phone off and leave the messages until tomorrow.’
The Champions League final at Wembley will take place on Saturday 1 June, with kick-off at 8pm.
For more stories like this, check our sport page.
Follow Metro Sport for the latest news on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.
