Pre Match
It was all about the fabled 'La Decima' for Real Madrid, as if 9 European Cups was not enough?! On the other side was Diego Simeone's Atletico Madrid, the recently crowned La Liga champions. For Atletico just getting to the final was a huge achievement considering where they were when Simeone took charge, some pundits said if they were to lift the trophy it would be one of the great managerial achievements in history.
Overview
Everyone knew how the game would play out, Real Madrid playing the expansive, skilful, attacking minded game. With Atletico playing the part of the defender, who would try and hold back the attacking Real and pounce when the opportunity presented itself. For 90 minutes this was exactly what happened. Atletico scored what was a scrappy, set piece goal, and from then on held on. Well 'held on' doesn't describe how they went about the game, they held onto the ball brilliantly and for the majority of the game held onto their lead with apparent ease.
For all the attacking options Real boasted, they rarely threatened Atletico's goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois goal. The only exception being the odd chance which fell to the Welshman Gareth Bale, one of the chances he should have scored, the rest granted were difficult chances. As the clock ran down you could feel the tension on the field as Real expected to win this game. Then finally the break through came, and it was a goal deserving of a Champions League final. That Sergio Ramos header turned the game on its head, and there was only one winner from there. That sent the game into extra time which entailed Real attacking, Atletico clearing, then Real launching another onslaught. Atletico were clearly exhausted and praying for penalties. It was going that way as well until a spectacular run by Di Maria produced a world class save by Courtois, but cruelly it fell to Gareth Bale who nodded into an empty goal.
From then on Real scored their third through the impressive Marcelo, and then Ronaldo scored from the penalty spot to finish the extra time demolition job off. It was a cruel finish for Atletico who did not deserve that scoreline.
An Ugly Ending
In his playing career, Diego Simeone was always regarded as a competitive, heart on sleeve character. His managing career up until this point had only drawn positive comments, but when he ran onto the pitch to confront the Real defender Varane after an exchange of words, things did turn ugly. His own team had to drag him away from a fight he clearly wanted to happen. Some managers are sore losers, but will show it in a moody press conference, but not that way. It cannot be under estimated how much that will affect the view people have of him, and whether it may be all downhill from here we will see.Costa's Short Lived Game
The Brazilian, turned Spaniard was barely on the pitch before he was dragged off as it was made clear his hamstring injury had not fully healed. All the pundits agreed that nobody recovers from a hamstring injury that quickly, but if the player said he was fit, who could blame Simeone for starting his star striker. As Graeme Souness argued, even if it was for 10-20 minutes, in that time Costa could have nicked a goal that could have earned his side the trophy.
The Last Word
I enjoyed watching Real Madrid win, I felt especially pleased for Bale and Ronaldo who had both worked tirelessly all the way through the competition. You could see how much it meant to the both of them when they scored their goals. Overall it was an enthralling, gripping final. It also cannot be forgotten how much an achievement it was for Atletico to reach the final. Hopefully their squad remains the same at the start of next season, and they remain competitive and not just become a selling club to the likes of Real, Barcelona etc.
Thanks for reading guys!! Post comments/thoughts below.
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