Real Madrid‘s penalty shoot-out victory over Atletico Madrid in the Champions League final was a dream come true for Keylor Navas.
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Before half-time Atletico were restricted to an Antoine Griezmann shot that fizzed wide of the upright, but they were handed a lifeline seconds after the restart when Pepe barged into Torres from behind.
Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos, who struck in stoppage time two years ago, showed a forward’s hunger to score in the 15th minute by forcing the ball past Oblak from close range.
To win in extra time: Real 7/1, Atletico 10/1.
The extra 30 minutes brought no more goals, and after Atletico right-back Juanfran Torres missed from the spot, Cristiano Ronaldo converted Madrid’s fifth spot kick to confirm that Simeone’s side had lost out just as they had when beaten 4-1 in extra-time two years ago in Lisbon.
And Ronaldo also missed the first leg of the semi-final against Man City but his French boss is confident his Portuguese forward will be perfectly fit for the game at the San Siro.
On Saturday night, they had a chance to expel the demons of 2014.
The Argentine has become one of the world’s most sought after coaches since helping Atletico to La Liga glory in 2014, the club’s first top-flight crown in 18 years.
It may have been long-serving defender Sergio Ramos that opened the scoring but the goal came courtesy of a Toni Kroos freekick and a Gareth Bale flick on.
“Some of their players were struggling but we tried not to show it too much”.
Conceding a second goal at that point would more than likely have been fatal to Atleti’s hopes but they continued to dominate and were rewarded 11 minutes from time when Carrasco arrived at the far post to convert Juanfran’s cross.
Almost 60,000 Real Madrid fans are in their home stadium in the Spanish capital watching their team play in the Champions League final.
Ex-Real Madrid midfielder Clarence Seedorf has voiced his backing for current boss Zinedine Zidane and says judgements should be reserve until next season.
“It’s a moment for me to think about things”, he said.
Ronaldo said he was happy to deliver a trophy for Zidane, who previously won the Champions League with Real Madrid as a player in 2002.
A penalty shootout was where Simeone’s influence ended, no matter how many times he urged his fans from the centre-circle.
The Undecima belongs to Real Madrid.
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Worse, Atletico were giving possession away cheaply and nearly paid the price on the half-hour when Casemiro intercepted to set up Benzema, who forced a fine one-handed parry from Oblak to stop his cross.
