It is the competition that Real Madrid like to think they own and the reasons why were mapped out in graphic detail at Wembley. Yet again. Borussia Dortmund brought the punch of the underdog and they played with a marvellous liberation in the first half, creating chances. And, well, missing them. It was impossible not to think they would live to regret it.

As the second half rolled along, Madrid stabilising and then really starting to play, everybody inside the stadium knew they had seen this movie before, especially the ending. Vinícius Júnior had endured a difficult first 45 minutes. Now he flipped the switch. So did everybody in the white shirts.

It was Dani Carvajal who scored the crucial first goal, flicking home from a Toni Kroos corner, and it felt as though something broke in Dortmund at that point. Madrid flooded forward, going close on a number of occasions before Jude Bellingham intercepted a terrible pass by Ian Maatsen to release Vinícius. He was never going to miss and so Madrid strutted towards a 15th European Cup, La Decimoquinta, Dortmund’s wounds salted when Niclas Füllkrug saw a late header pulled back for offside.

It was title No 5 in his competition as a manager for Carlo Ancelotti – a record – and No 6 as players for Carvajal, Nacho, Kroos and Luka Modric, who got on as a substitute – equalling Paco Gento’s all-time mark. The superlatives felt eternal.

It was an occasion that was defined by the contrasts. Everything you applied to one club, the opposite seemed to be true of the other and it extended to the pre-match vibes. The Dortmund end was packed over an hour before kick-off, bouncing with noise and energy, the goose bumps rising when the club’s former manager, Jürgen Klopp, was pictured on the big screen; he enjoyed the adulation. The Madridistas took their time. They are plainly better versed in this sort of thing, maybe more relaxed.

“The history of Real Madrid is born in the 1950s with this competition,” Ancelotti had said during the week, a nod towards how they won the first competition where you are most concentrated.” It felt, as he also talked openly about nerves, that he wanted to send a message: he wanted his team to take nothing for granted.

Edin Terzic’s 4-3-3 was fixed at the outset; Julian Brandt more of a left-sided No 8 than a No 10 while Madrid were fluid, Bellingham not the only rover. He defended on the left of a midfield four. Rodrygo played with plenty of license. Federico Valverde moved inside off the right; Dani Carvajal tried to get around the outside.

It was Dortmund who dominated the first half. Bellowed on by their fans, Terzic’s team enjoyed a concerted patch of pressure around the midway point when they had a clutch of chances to open the scoring. There were two big ones, in particular, the sort that really have to be taken.

The first was for Karim Adeyemi, the jet-heeled winger sent through for a one-on-one with Thibaut Courtois, Madrid’s recently returned goalkeeper. In his four games in May – his only four of a season undermined by serious knee ligament problems – Courtois did not concede. Madrid needed him here. Spooked by Courtois, Adeyemi took a heavy touch, sending him too far wide. His shot would be blocked by the covering Carvajal.

Dortmund brought the aggression in the duels; witness Julian Ryerson, for example, getting up close and physical against Vinícius . They pressed hard on to the front foot, their midfield stepping high, and it was remarkable to see how they got runners in behind the Madrid defence in the first 45 minutes, how they threatened from cut-backs.

Brandt had enjoyed the first opening only to be crowded out and after Adeyemi had almost got on to a low cross, Dortmund had their second huge moment. It was Ian Maatsen who robbed Eduardo Camavinga and, having raced back towards the Madrid goal, he released Füllkrüg with a lovely slipped pass. Füllkrug went first time for the far corner and was denied only by the inside of the post.

Madrid offered next to nothing as an attacking force in the first 45 minutes, Vinícius epitomising their frustration when he went in late on the goalkeeper, Gregor Kobel, to earn a yellow card. Dortmund had other flickers, Adeyemi extending Courtois from a tight angle; Marcel Sabitzer doing likewise from further out.

It had certainly been a strange start to the showpiece, a worrying one, too, from a security point of view. Three men ran onto the pitch in the opening few minutes, the first stopping to take a selfie with Vinícius. Where were the stewards? Nowhere. The first two invaders left of their own accord; the third would run back on before a few luminous bibs eventually showed up.

Dortmund that knew they had to continue in the same vein in the second half but it was inconceivable that Madrid would remain so toothless. Ancelotti wanted Toni Kroos to drop deep to make the play, Camavinga to push up in central midfield. Terzic was never going to deviate too far from his plan. The structure was impressively sound.

Madrid duly stirred. Kroos forced Kobel to tip a curling free-kick behind; from the corner, Carvajal headed off target. Carvajal would also see a side-on volley blocked by Maatsen.

Füllkrug planted a header straight at Courtois from Adeyemi’s cross but the tide had turned. It was Madrid on the front foot, even if they continued to make errors. Vinícius turned up the heat, making a few moves on Ryerson, including an outrageous stop-and-go nutmeg. When Vinícius shaped a cross towards the far post, Bellingham was inches from making a decisive contact. The sense was strong. A Madrid goal was coming.