The UEFA Champions League final will be played with Burussia Dortmund facing the mighty Real Madrid as an underdog in a competition frequently dominated by Real Madrid. Real Madrid had won the trophy 14 times, 7 more than the second place AC Milan while Dortmund had only won it once in the 1996/1996 season. All odds seems to be against the German team but with proper preparation, Dortmund can pull a wonder like Jose Mourinho’s Inter Milan did in 2010 against Barcelona.

Here are 3 things Dortmund could do to offset Real Madrid
Restricting the Attacking Duo Vinicius and Rodrygo
Real Madrid are well known for being clinical in their attack as they have the ability to score goals from absolutely nothing. This is usually made easy with the speed, technicality and ability of their attacking duo Vinicius and Rodrygo. Vinicius Jr has scored 23 goals and 11 assists in just 37 appearances for Real Madrid this season with 10 of those goal contributions coming in the UEFA Champions league. Likewise, Rodrygo scored 17 goals and 9 assists in 49 appearances with 8 of those goal contributions coming in the UEFA Champions league.

With the attacking threats of these two, Real Madrid are capable of securing a goal from absolutely nowhere. So if Dortmund are going to have any chance of winning the game, it is paramount they close off the duo making sure they are not given any space to make runs behind them.
Closing off Space in The Midfield
As deadly as Real Madrid attacking duo are, the major threat comes from the ability of their midfielders to pick up the attacking duo runs with line breaking passes in transition to set up their counter attacks. This is the major reason why even stronger teams like Man City find it difficult to contain them.
They prefer to leave the majority of the ball possession to the other teams hoping to hurt them with their fast transition which have been working out so for in the past decades. This is evident in their average possession of 53% in the UEFA champions league this season and pass accuracy of 90.1% compared to Man City’s 70% possession. Therefore Dortmund has to make sure Real Madrid midfielders like Modric, Kross and Bellingham are not given any space in the midfield to make their dangerous passes.

High Chance Conversion Rate
Real Madrid despite their average possession tends to concede very few chances even against top teams. So for any team to have a chance of beating them, such them must be clinical in goal. They have only conceded 3 goals from counter attacks and 2 goals from set pieces in the league this season with a total of just 26 goals conceded in the league.

In short, teams rarely get chances against Real Madrid leading to them conceding very few goals. Few chances they concede, their impressive defense keeps them away from goal majority of the time. So for Dortmund to prevail, they must make all their chances count, no matter how insignificant those chances maybe.
Can Dortmund Prevail In The UEFA Champions League Final?
Real Madrid has played a total of 17 UEFA Champions league finals winning 14 of them losing just 3. The last time they lost a champions league final was in the 1980/1981 season against Liverpool. So it is fair to say majority of Real Madrid fans have never watched their team lost a champions league final.
Compared to Dortmund winning only one UEFA Champions league trophy, the comparism between them may seem like a joke. But football can be anyone’s game and if Dortmund can successfully do these three things, it can be argued that their chance of winning will increase exponentially.