Chris Maduewesi
Member
A 4-1 victory in Portugal's capital,Lisbon ended Real's endless wait and also cure their obsession to win the #ChampionsLeague for a tenth time,.
Twelve years they have been trying,and in a season they broke the transfer record yet again,the Champions League trophy finds its way to them.
#Atletico were chasing history looking to make it a double having been crowned the champions of Spain.
It was the kind of scripts in football matches that one did not envisage for and it ends up astounding the spectators.
As was expected in a game of this magnitude,the match was high octane and played with so much intensity with both teams committing their soul totally into the game.
There was a huge surprise when the team-sheets were announced,Diego #Costa was a surprise inclusion into the Atletico Madrid team after reportedly undergoing a 'horse placenta' treatment renowned for quick recoveries from injuries.
But it appeared the magic didn't work wonders as Costa was substituted after just nine minutes into the game.
With the game into full swing,Atletico showed grit,zealous and determination into every tackle they went in for.
Cristaino #Ronaldo struggled to get off gear one and Gareth #Bale looked like a passenger in the first 45minutes.
Bale did have a magnificent opportunity to open the scores after Atletico's Tiago Mendes misplaced a pass to him,and when the Welshman latched on to the ball racing towards goal,people rose up with him in anticipation but the disappointment in the finish was appalling.
Miranda closed in on him but he had a good opportunity to accurately select his angle,however his effort sailed inches off the post.
Just when a goal was needed Atletico came up with the goods,who else but Diego #Godin to score an important goal.
A moment of rash indecision by Iker #Casillas in the 36th minute,rushing out from his goalpost to claim a ball that he couldn't get to,saw Godin head the ball past him into the net for the opener.
The veteran goalkeeper has not been the automatic first choice,with Diego Lopez the preferred choice in the league and him in Europe and it showed why he has been backup.
The onus was on Real to respond with a goal,seeing their rivals take the lead against them,Atletico were nearing dreamland.
In the second half Ronaldo came close on a couple of occasions,volleying wide,heading over the post and seeing his free kick saved by Thibaut #Courtois.
Real pressed for an equaliser,prying for an opportunity to get past a well formed wall by Atletico,but they weren't yielding.
At some point they ran out of ideas and it looked like they weren't going to break the deadlock. Bale for one looked like he should have been somewhere else on the night.
With the game looking like it has already been decided,Real propped up with the unthinkable,score an equaliser out of the blues in the last minute of added time.
It was heartbreaking for Atletico seeing Sergio#Ramos tower past Tiago to meet a corner-kick and head in a goal beyond Courtois.
Going down in history,Ramos' goal was another last-minute equaliser against Atletico which they have conceded in a European Cup final.
With the game going to extra time,the limbs began to tire and Atletico Madrid players were the worst hit having exerted a lot of energy in regulation time.
After the first half of extra time,penalties looked imminent but Atletico's tiredness haunted them.
Madrid got their noses in front after a great run from Di Maria who capitalised on a slip from Juanfran,side-footing and forcing a save off Courtois,but a fantastic header from Bale ensured that the ball ended in the back net for 2-1
That was arguably the best thing Bale did all night,the most expensive player in the world bought from Tottenham last summer.
There was to be more heartbreak for Atletico,as two more goals from substitute Marcelo and Ronaldo from the spot condemned them to a whooping 4-1 defeat in Lisbon.
The score line wasn't a true reflection of the game,as it looked flattering to Carlo #Ancelotti's team.
However,Ancelotti has now matched Bob Paisley's record of 3 European Cup wins for a manager,and now boasts of winning the Champions League on five occasions: twice as a player and thrice as a coach.
Will Diego Simeone be regretting the decision he made to start Costa on the night? because it seemed as though it altered his game-plan on the night.
Well it could be medicine after death as Real are now the undisputed Kings of Europe by virtue of their tenth triumph on Saturday.
Last edited by a moderator: