They are the greatest team in European club competition, and they keep getting greater. Real Madrid is back to being the UEFA Champions League winners after a year of passing it on to their bitter rivals, FC Barcelona.
They were fortunate to be handed the same team they defeated in their last champions league final.
Another Champions League final fixture between Real Madrid and city rivals Atletico Madrid. Atletico needed a revenge after letting go in the final minutes in their previous try to be champions of Europe.
It is very rare for the goal that mattered the most and the deciding goal to be two different goals. Just like the previous finale, Sergio Ramos gave real Madrid the goal that mattered most.
Atletico got to the final of the champions league after great defensive work against the best attacks in world football. Going down to an early goal changed the script for Diego Simeone and his men.
Antoine Griezmann had been a star figure all through the competition for Atletico Madrid. His failure to convert a second-half penalty in the 48th minute will haunt him for some time. We can’t predict the outcome if he had scored the penalty. But had things continue the way it did, Carrasco’s goal would have been the winning goal.
In their previous encounter, Real Madrid took the match to extra time. The case was different this time, as Atletico prolonged their loss by taking the match to extra time and eventually penalties. Yannick Ferreira-Carrasco equalized in the 79th minute to make the match a 1-1 draw.
There is something unfair about losing a competition to penalty kicks. But we don’t have all day to teams that can’t find the net over 120 minutes and additional time.
The first seven penalty kicks were turned to goals. Lucas Vasquez (Real Madrid) started things off. Followed by Griezmann(AM), Marcelo(RM), Gabi(AM), Bale(RM), Saul(AM) and Ramos(RM). Juanfran(AM) was the eighth player to take the spot. His miss gave Real Madrid a winning kick. Cristiano Ronaldo wouldn’t make a mistake here, as he slotted in his pk.
Real wins again.
Atletico Madrid finished the season trophyless, after lots of memorable performances throughout the season.
Double joy for Carvajal, Ramos, Modric, Bale, Benzema and Ronaldo. On the flip side, it was double the pain for Godin, Filipe Luis, Gabi, Koke, and Juanfran. Both sets of players were among the starting lineup in 2014.
