As the missed chances piled up at Wembley, Borussia Dortmund would have felt an impending sense of doom spreading through their ranks. This was Real Madrid they were facing after all, the team that never ceases to find a way when the stakes are at their highest. And, eventually, Los Blancos' supernatural powers saw them through once again in Saturday's Champions League final.
After Karim Adeyemi had failed to convert a one-on-one midway through the first half and Niclas Fullkrug had wasted a pair of decent chances, Madrid finally went for the kill. First, one of the shortest men on the pitch, Dani Carvajal, headed in from a corner, and Vinicius Jr then made sure of the result by finishing well from inside the box following a poor error from Ian Maatsen.
It's not just the missed chances that will wrangle Dortmund this evening, either. The fifth-best side in Germany also played this game on their own terms, defending superbly for the most part and controlling proceedings for long spells. Fullkrug's disallowed goal a few minutes from time neatly summed it up. So close, yet so far for Edin Terzic and Co. The Rebel Alliance failed to topple the evil Empire.
GOAL rates Dortmund's players from Wembley...