Real Madrid lifted their tenth UEFA Champions League title on Saturday, as they beat Atletico Madrid 4-1 at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon.
Diego Godin’s header looked to be the difference for so long, as Iker Casillas misjudged a ball into the box in the first half and handed Atleti the lead. However Sergio Ramos equalized deep into second half stoppage time to send the game into extra time, and that is when Real’s star power shone through.
RECAP: Real Madrid win tenth Champions League title after rousing comeback
Carlo Ancelotti delivered the Champions League title at the first time of asking as the Italian manager saw his side get the better of their bitter crosstown rivals.
We learned many things from a tense final in Lisbon, here are three.
The big bucks makes the difference
Heading into extra time, there was only going to be one winner in Lisbon. Real pinned Atletico back just seconds before they were about to celebrate becoming European champions and Atleti’s illustrious neighbors grabbed their second chance with both hands. Their star power made a huge difference late on as the impressive midfield duo of Luke Modric and Angel Di Maria were tireless and ran themselves into the ground for the cause. Those two were terrific and then it was time for Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo to both get themselves on the scoresheet. It was a case of “if at first you don’t succeed, try, try again” for both of the global superstars as after several misses Bale popped up to head home and make it 2-1, then Ronaldo scored his 17th and final UCL goal of the season to finish things off in style from the PK spot and hand Real the trophy. If you splash out over $240 million on two players, eventually they will make the difference.
Xabi Alonso’s absence, Khedira’s rustiness
In the 58th minute Sami Khedira was replaced by Isco and the German midfielder was put out of his misery after a UCL final to forget. Khedira has been out for over six months with a serious injury and has only played in two games at the end of the season. It showed. Booked in the first half for a lazy tackle, Khedira was not at his combative best and was poor in possession. He gave the ball away and dwelt on it on multiple occasions and Xabi Alonso’s presence in the center of midfield was badly missed, after he picked up a second yellow card in the semifinal win vs. Bayern Munich which ruled him out of the final. Alonso keeps Real ticking over with short passes in the middle and is their heartbeat. Khedira didn’t do well enough to step in for the Spanish international and the likes of Tiago, Koke and Raul Garcia took full advantage of that. The reason why it was such a struggle for Real to clinch the UCL crown was because Atletico dominated the midfield for large swathes of the final.
Set pieces prove pivotal
Atletico sent in an aerial bombardment that Real couldn’t deal with. The winning goal came from Godin’s header after a corner was half cleared and Khedira failed to jump higher than Godin, then Casillas was caught in no man’s land to see the ball loop over his head and over the line. Atleti had nine corners during the match and every time they looked to test Real with vicious deliveries and men crashing in on Casillas at every opportunity. Then Real got back into the game via set piece, as Modric whipped in a cross from the right which found Sergio Ramos to flick home his header into the far post and crush the dreams of Atletico’s fans, players and coaching staff. In a game where both teams matched up man for man across the pitch, set pieces situations proved pivotal in the outcome as the scores finished level through regulation. Real’s extra class from open play then shone through in the extra 30 minutes and that is why they are champions of Europe.