UEFA Champions League Final: Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid –As It Happened
Real
Madrid have finally won the "La Decima". It has been a 12 year wait for
them. They have been the best team in the tournament. Carlo Ancelotti
becomes only the second manager to win the Champions League on three
occasions.
But spare a thought for the Atletico side. They have
fought extremely well tonight and throughout the season. Absolutely no
shame in losing to this Real side. The final score does not justify the
effort of the players. This by no means was a one sided match.
Congratulations to Real Madrid on winning their 10th UEFA Champions League.
FT:Real Madrid 4-1 Atletico Madrid
120'GOAL! Ronaldo finally gets his goal. 4-1
PENALTY TO REAL
This is now turning into a rout. Ronaldo to take it.
118'GOAL! MARCELO!
Final nail in the coffin.
116'Now the Atletico half is full of gaping holes. Di Maria slip at the crucial moment or he was through one-on-one with Courtois!
114'Casillas
is almost caught out again as he comes out but does not collect a long
ball, leaving an empty goal. Fortunately for him, Tiago shoots over the
goal.
110'Di María effort is saved by Courtois and the
ball kindly loops up for Bale, who easily heads into the empty net.
Incredible scenes.
110' GOALLLLL! Its Bale. Worth every penny now?
109'Atlético
struggling to retain possession. That goal by Madrid seems to have
demotivated them. Madrid are quick to snatch the ball back and resume
the attack.
105'Players and managers will be thinking about the penalties now. No team wants to make a mistake here.
And so begins the last round of this epic battle. 15 minutes before we head to the penalties.
End of the first extra half:1-1
105'Juanfran
brings down Ronaldo to prevent him from racing into a dangerous area.
Mental fatigue is setting in the players now. Real are energized after
that last minute goal.
104'Gabi makes sure Carvajal has no
option but to concedea corner, and Atletico get men forward. Rare
attack by them during this period of extra time. The resulting corner is
cleared by the first line of Real defense.
102'Ronaldo's free-kick is deflected by Godin for a corner. Ronaldo appeals for a handball but he is ignored by the ref.
101'Marcelo
has been the best substitution for Real. Gabi clips the Brazilian who
is too quick for him. Free-kick to Real and a yellow card for Gabi.
99'Marcelo
tricks Juanfran who clearly is very tired and sends in a low cross
across the face of the goal. Miranda clears the ball before Morata can
reach it.
95'Di Maria moves down the left and has plenty of options, but the Atletico defense shuts him out quickly.
No guesses as to who MS Dhoni is backing to lift the cup. He has just tweeted:
Fantastic football going on
Extra time will b interesting,no more subs available and many yellow cards shown,test of fitness and how well
they control their mind
Let's c who can keep up with bale's pace,isco will be good
90'+4
You
HAVE to feel for Atletico Madrid there. So close yet so far. We also
must mention the resilience of this Madris side, they kept attacking
till the last minute. Great for all the neutrals out there. Extra time
underway.
FULL TIME: Real Madrid 1-1 Atletico Madrid
90'+4HEARTBREAK!
GOAL! Good lord. What a cracking header by Ramos. With one minute left
on the clock, Ramos has put an indelible mark on this match. We are most
certainly headed into extra time now.
90'Simeone is
motivating his men in the last few minutes of this epic battle. His
players seem to respond. So does the crowd. Five minutes of stoppage
time has been signaled.
86'Yellow card for Koke. He tried to hold back Modric. Time is ticking away.
86'Ronaldo's
delivery is heroically cut out by Juanfran who throws himself at the
ball before it was met by Marcelo who was charging towards it.
84'Relentless
pressure from Real now in an attempt to breach the Atletico defense.
Simeone's soldiers are holding on though. Too much tension inside the
stadium now.
82'Atletico make their final substitution now. They replace Felipe Luis with Toby Alderweireld.
80'Benzema's
night is over. He is replaced by Morata. Only 10 minutes plus stoppage
time left now. Real have made all their substitutions.
78'
And now Bale. Oh my. So close again. Bale leaves Godin in his wake n
the right, reaches the box with sheer pace but scoffs his shot. What a
chance for Bale.
76' Marcelo has definitely helped the
Madrid cause here. He launches yet another glorious cross-field ball to
Ronaldo who shoots but narrowly misses the target. They are looking
dangerous now.
74'Another yellow card. This time for Juanfran as he fouls Di Maria.
72'Yellow card for Villa. He went sliding into Casillas despite the goalkeeper clearly being the first to get to the ball.
70'Marcelo
launches a trademark cross-field ball into Bale who brings it down and
finds himself in a decent position. Referee blows his whistle as Bale
used a part of his arm to control the ball.
68' Isco drags
his shot wide. Patient build from Madrid there with a move involving
Ronaldo and Benzema, who beautifully held up the ball and then set up
the Isco.
66' Second substitution by Diego Simeone. He replaces Garcia with Jose Sosa. Good move by him. Garcia was already on a yellow.
62'Ronaldo
jupms into the air to meet a cross from the left flank. Unfortunately
even Benzema can't benefit from that Ronaldo header. Real need more of
that.
61'Madrid are looking for an equalizer now as is
evident from the two substitutions,both of which are attack-minded
players. Atletico are doing a solid job of marshaling their lines.
59'Alright! Ancelotti's has had enough. He rings in a double substitution. Isco for Khadira and Marcelo for Coentrao.
56'Ronaldo
heads the resulting corner and Atletico briskly launch a counter.
TImely block from Carvajal but he can't prevent a corner.
54'Free-kick in Ronaldo's territory. Coutois pushes the ball for a corner from the deflected free-kick.
53'Miranda
prevents Di Maria from racing into the box. He picks up a yellow card
for his troubles. Second player from Atletico to go into the book.
51'Raul
Garcia volleys from the edge of the area. This after Koke made a near
impossible cross from the left flank. Shot sails over.
49'Gabi fouls Modric inside the Atletico half. Di Maria takes the resulting free-kick which is thwarted away by Miranda.
47' No changes from either side as the second half is under way here in Lisbon.
Apart
from that golden opportunity for Bale, Real have failed to create any
clear cut chances in the final. Cristiano Ronaldo has been fairly quiet
and hasn't been involved any major constructive move of Real.
Atletico,
who have mastered the smash and grab art form are playing to their
strengths. They are maximizing their chances from set-pieces. Despite
Costa having limped off early, Simeone's men have managed to hold off
the start studded Madrid side with ease.
Only 45 minutes separate Atletico's gladiators from a historic win. What a story this has been so far.
HALF TIME: Real Madrid 0-1 Atletico Madrid
45'Sami Khedira is booked. He is the second Madrid player to be cautioned here tonight.
42'Atletico
fans are going crazy in the stands,. It has been 40 years since the
last time they made it to the final of the European Cup. Making every
moment count.
41'Gabi with another corner that the Mardid
defense finds tough to clear. Adrian meets it, but he header goes over
the crossbar. Real are having problems dealing with these corners and
free-kicks.
40'The goal seems to have energized Simeone's men. They are thronging forward in numbers.
36'
GOAL! It's that man Godin again. What a dream start for Atletico and
Godin who also scored last week with a header against Barcelona. This
time Gabi's corner is cleared by the defense but is floated back in by
Juanfran. Casillas is does not clear it but Godin meets it with his head
for the first goal of the final.
33'Massive chance! Bale
was through on goal there after an error by Thiago. Bale's blistering
pace helped him beat two players but with just the goalkeeper to beat,
the Welshmen shot wide. Poor miss.
29'Koke needs to
careful here. He has committed two quick fouls in a matter of few
minutes. The ref let's him go with a warning. Probably for the last
time.
27'Ronaldo takes the free-kick, but Courtois is up
to the task and saves easily. Ramos is handed out a yellow card for his
needless protest.
26'Di Maria runs down in the Atletico
half, and Garcia hacks him to the floor and becomes the first player to
go into the ref's book. Ramos is very animated and is in the ref's face.
This could be trouble.
24' Courtois again with yet another easy collection. The cross from Di Maria is no good.
22'Gabi
makes a late challenge on Di Maria. Free-kick to Madrid, which is taken
by Modric, but the Croatian fails to find his teammates and Courtois
collects the ball cleanly.
20'Looks like Ronaldo and Bale
have switched sides. The Atletico defense is holding firm to any danger
posed by the Madrid attackers. But Coutois has been comfortable so far.
18'Atletico
are staying true to form here. Madrid are being crowded out in front of
the 18-yard area and a a result they are failing to create openings.
16'Gabi does not like Coentrao's challenge on him and the duo get into a tussle. The ref is prompt in settling the issue.
14'Gabi's
pass finds Adrian who is quick enough to run past the defenders but
can't seem to beat Casillas who is first to the ball and punts it clear.
12'Lovely
patient play from Madrid, building up the attack that resulted in a Di
Maria cross which was very deep and couldn't find a player in white.
8'
Problems for Atletico. Their star man Diego Costa is limping off the
pitch. Simeone makes his first substitution. Adrián López come on.
5' Benzema tries to put Bale through but Courtois is alert and collects the ball.
3' Ronaldo being marked very tightly. Fouled by Miranda near the center circle.
2' Real with the early possession and passing the ball around.
Xabi Alonso misses the match due to suspension. Will Madrid miss him?
Surprise! Diego Costa starts...
Atletico Madrid:Courtois; Juanfran, Godin, Miranda, Filipe Luis; Gabi, Tiago, Koke, Raul Garcia; Villa, Diego Costa
Real Madrid: Casillas, Varane, Ramos, Coentrão, Khedira, Cristiano Ronaldo, Benzema, Bale, Carvajal, Modric, Di María
And we have both the teams
STAT:
Only six managers (Benitez, Lattek, Mourinho, Paisley, Trapattoni, Van
Gaal) have won the Champions League and UEFA Cup. Diego “El Cholo”
Simeone could be the seventh.
STAT: The final tonight
will mark the 200th appearance of Real Madrid in the Champions League.
The only other team to play 200 games in Europe's elite club competition
are Manchester United.