Real Madrid star Jude Bellingham has expressed his excitement about facing his former club Borussia Dortmund in the UEFA Champions League final on June 1. The England international said he never imagined he would be playing his first Champions League final against his old club on his country’s soil in his debut season.
Real Madrid Beat Bayern Munich To Qualify For Champions League Final
Los Blancos welcomed Bayern Munich to the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium for the UEFA Champions League semi-final second leg on Wednesday night. The Whites dominated proceedings from the beginning, but Bayern drew first blood against the run of play in the 68th minute. Alphonso Davies scored a belter from outside the box to put Bayern 1-0 up (3-2 on aggregate).
Real Madrid, who are famous for their iconic comebacks, bounced back, thanks to a sensational brace from super-sub Joselu. The Spaniard tucked away Vinicius Jr.’s rebound in the 88th minute before clinically tapping in Antonio Rudiger’s cutback in the 91st minute. With a 4-3 aggregate victory, Real Madrid booked their place in their 18th European Cup/Champions League final.
Jude Bellingham On Dreamland After Securing Wembley Qualification
Bellingham, who joined Real Madrid from Borussia Dortmund at the start of the season, enjoyed a decent game against Bayern Munich. After the final whistle, he explained what it felt like meeting Dortmund in his first-ever Champions League final, that, too, in England.
The 20-year-old said (via Madrid Universal):
“It’s crazy. I can’t believe it. It could only happen like this. My first final. In England, against Dortmund. To their credit, they deserve their place in the final.
“It will be nice to see some old friends. I think I’ll turn off the phone and leave the messages for tomorrow.”
Bellingham also hailed Real Madrid’s character, giving a special nod to Joselu.
He added:
“Character sums up tonight’s game. It sums up our season. We have quality and talent in abundance, but in some of these games where it seems like we are out, we have players who come off the bench and can do a job and still win a game.”
Bellingham will be one of the favorites for the 2024 Ballon d’Or if Madrid win the UEFA Champions League and England go deep into the European Championship. He has played 39 games for Madrid in all competitions this season, scoring 22 times and providing 10 assists.
