Cristiano Ronaldo lauded the impact made by Real Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane as the Frenchman led the Spanish giants into the Champions League final with a 1-0 win over Manchester City on Wednesday. “I don’t think Real Madrid demonstrated tonight they are a better team than Manchester City”.
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Real edged a thrilling final in 2014 for their 10th European Cup in Lisbon as Sergio Ramos’s injury-time header denied Atletico their first European Cup by sending the game to extra-time before Los Blancos ran out 4-1 winners.
Pellegrini suggested that fortune had been on Madrid’s side across two tense encounters, while Hart was left frustrated at the manner in which he conceded the only goal of the tie.
Fernandinho came closest to taking City to their first-ever Champions League final when his shot clipped the outside of the post a minute before halftime.
By contrast, Ronaldo holds two Champions League titles (one with Manchester United and one with Real Madrid) and lost the final that pitted the Red Devils against Barcelona in the 2008-09 season.
“He’s given us that belief and freedom to go out and express ourselves and enjoy ourselves”, Bale told UEFA’s official website.
Madrid grew stronger after the goal and a shot from Ronaldo flew over the bar, while Pepe put the ball in the net only to see his effort ruled out correctly for offside. “I’m not surprised that Atletico are in the final”.
“I am happy, with no problems”.
“Zidane is doing a great job. We didn’t concede many chances but the result shows we found it hard”, said the 43-year-old.
“We’ve always been behind Zidane because he is a humble person who likes to listen, and that always makes things easier”. True, the visitors suffered an early disruption when captain Vincent Kompany hobbled off after just ten minutes with a thigh strain, but for a team of their class to succumb so timidly was embarrassing.
But since the arrival of Simeone, the former defensive midfielder who brought in hard-working players who passionately abide to his team-first attitude, Atletico has become a force.
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Madrid took charge of the game from the start, while City defended deep.
