It was the big one!! Real Madrid against Atletico Madrid in the finals of the Champions League at the San Siro on Saturday night. The two giants from Spain went head to head in order to be crowned the champions of Europe. Los Blancos opened the scoring in the 15th minute, when Sergio Ramos got at the end of a Tony Kroos free-kick which was initially headed by Gareth Bale. Atletico had good chances to score, but failed to hit the target as both sides went into the break, with Real leading 1-0.
In the second half, Fernando Torres was brought down by Pepe giving his side a penalty. However, Antoine Griezmann hit the bar and a chance to equalize was wasted. Both keepers made some good saves to keep their side in the game though Diego Simeone’s team eventually made it 1-1 in the 79th minute. Yannick Ferreira Carrasco scored with a good finish, after a quick cross was put across the box.
Extra time could not find a winner and the match eventually went to a shootout. Juanfran was the culprit for Simeone’s side, who missed his penalty kick with Cristiano Ronaldo netting for Real, to make it 5-3 and crowning his side as the new champions of Europe.
Player Ratings:
Keylor Navas: 3.5/5
Made some decent saves and his tricks on Griezmann prior to his penalty in the second half got him booked. However, it worked as the Frenchman hit the woodwork. Unable to keep a clean sheet in the game, though could not do much to prevent it.
Sergio Ramos: 3.5/5
The Real center-back and skipper put in a great performance in the cup finals, scoring the opening goal of the match and his penalty in the shootout too.
Marcelo: 3/5
Not much of an attacking option though he played his part in keeping the Atletico attack at bay to an extent. Juanfran did the better of him occasionally with runs behind him.
Daniel Carvajal: 3/5
Looked quite comfortable in the game, as he contributed in defence and attack as well, before going with an injury after 52 minutes.
Pepe: 3/5
Gave away a cheap penalty after the break as he made a silly challenge on Torres in the box. Looked good in the game other than that.
Gareth Bale: 3.5/5
A threat to the back-line of Atletico creating a good chance for Casemiro, though he failed to score. Claimed a headed assist for Ramos’ early goal.
Casemiro: 3.5/5
Stood like a wall in front of his defence and gave Oblak some problems with his shots, forcing him to make some great saves in the match.
Tony Kroos: 3/5
His free-kick led to the opening goal which Bale headed down for Ramos to score from. Worked really hard in the match and was substituted just 20 minutes before the end of the 90.
Luka Modric: 3/5
The play-maker pulled strings from midfield, helping his side push forward and create goalscoring opportunities.
Karim Benzema: 2.5/5
Could not make too much of an impact in the match and struggled to find space at times. Took a few direct shots at the keeper which yielded nothing.
Cristiano Ronaldo: 3/5
Created some good chances in the match though failed to convert them on the night. Scored the penalty in the shootout that won Real the Champions League title.
Substitutes:
Danilo: 3/5
Came on to replace the injured Carvajal and looked good.
Isco: 2/5
Brought on for Kroos and barely made any sort of impact.
Lucas Vazquez: 3/5
Carrasco troubled him with his pace at times and was able to deliver a good cross for the equalizer. However, he compensated by taking a good penalty in the shootout.