Real Madrid win 11th title after beating Atletico in shootout drama
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Updated 29/05/2016 at 08:19 GMT
Champions League final, San Siro, Milan - Real Madrid 1 (Ramos 15) Atletico 1 (Carrasco 79). Real Madrid win 5-3 on penalties.
Real Madrid's Sergio Ramos lifts the trophy as they celebrate winning the UEFA Champions League
Image credit: Reuters
Real Madrid beat city rivals Atletico on penalties to win the Champions League in Milan in a dramatic and fiercely-fought match.
Cristiano Ronaldo lashed home the winning kick from the spot to make it 5-3 to Los Blancos after the contest had finished 1-1 with neither side able to find the net in extra time.
It caps a fairytale conclusion to a first season at the helm for Zinedine Zidane after he replaced Rafael Benitez in the dugout in January. The French icon becomes the seventh man to win the cup both as a player and as a manager.
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Real Madrid's Sergio Ramos, Lucas Vazquez and Gareth Bale celebrate winning the penalty shootout and the UEFA Champions League Final
Image credit: Reuters
Atletico had seen their hopes of a maiden success in Europe's premier competition deflated by their arch rivals in Lisbon two years ago and it was a case of deja vu in more ways than one as Diego Simeone's men came up agonisingly short on the night.
Sergio Ramos, who had scored the last-gasp equaliser to deny Atletico the trophy in their previous final showdown, was their nemesis once more as he touched home Gareth Bale's flick-on from Toni Kroos' left-wing free kick to give Real the lead on 15 minutes.
There was a touch of offside about the goal but it was not seen by referee Mark Clattenburg and his assistants, meaning Ramos joined an elite group of just four defenders who have scored in a European Cup final.
Atletico had reached the San Siro with a stubborn rearguard to deny the might of both Bayern Munich and Barcelona en route, but they struggled to cope with Real's movement early on. However, a half-time substitution altered the rhythm and swung it in their favour with Yannick Carrasco playing a starring role in their recovery.
Antoine Griezmann smashed a penalty against the crossbar within minutes of the restart but Atletico continued to press until Carrasco crashed in Juanfran's delicious cross from close range to force extra time.
Both sides had chances to snatch the victory but it ultimately came down to spot kicks with Juanfran the first to miss after seven superb attempts, leaving Ronaldo - who was a doubt for the match - to take the honour of delivering the title for Real.
TALKING POINT
Cristiano Ronaldo's fitness
The Portuguese was described as 100 per cent fit by Zinedine Zidane ahead of the match - but he was clearly well short of that. The forward was hoping to equal his own record of 17 goals in a single UEFA Champions League campaign and become the first man in the CL era to net in three finals, but that never looked likely.
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Real Madrid's Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates with Alvaro Arebeloa after scoring during the penalty shootout to win the UEFA Champions League Final
Image credit: Reuters
Real's talisman was a shadow of his usual self, but in the end he still grabbed the headlines with a penalty that secured yet another European trophy for Real. It was hard on Atletico who were the better team for long spells, but Los Rojiblancos must now hope it is fourth time lucky in the near future after losing all three of the finals they have been involved in.
MAN OF THE MATCH
Yannick Carrasco (Atletico Madrid). Completely changed the complexion of the game. Gave Atletico a real injection of pace and trickery as they dominated the second half. Scored the goal that forced extra time and didn't deserve to be on the losing side.
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2016, Ferreira Carrasco celebration, Atletico Madrid-Real Madrid, Champions League
Image credit: AFP
PLAYER RATINGS
REAL MADRID: Navas 7, Carvajal 7, Pepe 5, Ramos 7, Marcelo 6, Modric 7, Casemiro 7, Kroos 7, Bale 7, Benzema 5, Ronaldo 5. Subs: Danilo 5, Lucas 6, Isco 6.
ATLETICO MADRID: Oblak 8; Juanfran 7, Savic 7, Godin 7, Filipe Luis 7; Koke 7, Gabi 7, Augusto 5, Saul 6; Torres 5, Griezmann 6. Subs: Carrasco 8, Hernandez 6, Paertey n/a.
KEY MOMENTS
6' - REAL CHANCE! Bale whips a dangerous free kick into the middle that Casemiro meets with a six-yard volley, but Oblak somehow keeps it out. Magnificent goalkeeping.
15' - GOAL! ATLETICO 0-1 REAL. Ramos tucks home from close range after Kroos' free kick from the left was nodded on by Bale. Looked like he could have been just offside but the goal stands.
48' PENALTY MISS! Griezmann steps up but smashes his spot kick against the bar. Real clear and it remains 1-0! The kick was awarded after Torres was taken out by a rash tackle from Pepe in the box.
55' - ATLETICO CHANCE! Real are all over the place from a left-wing corner. Godin rises and nods it down but Savic can only stab wide from close range after it bounced around in the box.
70' - REAL CHANCE! Real break at speed. Modric feeds Benzema who surges into the area from the right but sees his driven effort blocked by Oblak.
78' - OFF THE LINE! Real are in for a second but can't make it count. Bale gets a second bite of the cherry and sidesteps the keeper but sees his driven effort hacked off the line by Savic!
79' - GOAL! ATLETICO 1-1 REAL. Atletico are level! Juanfran volleys a cross into the six-yard box and Yannick Carrasco arrives at the far post to blast it into the net. All square!
KEY STATS
Sergio Ramos is the fourth defender to score in two different #UCL/European Cup finals (Gemmel, Phil Neal and Vasovic).
Yannick Carrasco is the first Belgian to score in a Champions Cup/Champions League final.
This was the 8th CL final to go to ET - of the previous seven only the 2014 final between these two teams didn't go to a penalty shootout.
Carrasco is the first substitute to score in a CL final since Marcelo scored for Real Madrid in this fixture two years ago.
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Atletico Madrid players look dejected during the penalty shootout
Image credit: Reuters
Prior to Atletico, no team had ever lost its first three European Cup/CL finals. FC Barcelona and Juventus both won their first CC/CL final on their third attempt.
Real become the first club to win the Champions League five times.
Real Madrid extend the record for Champions Cup/Champions League victories to 11. They lead the list by four from AC Milan who have won the competition seven times.
MATCH IN A TWEET
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