Real Madrid v Atlético – live! Champions League final Real Madrid v Atlético Madrid – live! Minute-by-minute report: Will Real get their hands on their 10th title, or will Atlético complete a La Liga and Champions League double? Join Scott Murray to find out!
Diego Godin flicks his header goalwards, with Iker Casillas stranded. Photograph: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images
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HALF TIME: Real Madrid 0-1 Atlético Madrid
Not a classic, then, but will Atlético care? They're doing a number on Real here. What a second half we have in store!
45 min +1: Khedira is booked for an artless clatter on Villa in the centre circle.
45 min: Juanfran is forced to slide the ball out for a corner
down the left under pressure from Di Maria. The corner is cleared by a
towering header from ... David Villa. This couldn't be going any worse
for Real right now. They appear completely rattled. Half time can't come
fast enough.
42 min: Modric tries to open up the Atlético back line with a
crossfield pass from the left, but Benzema's never getting that, and it
flies behind for a goal kick. Atlético have Real exactly where they
want them at the moment. The favourites look flustered.
41 min: Real are all over the shop at the back. A long free
kick from the right sent into their area. Villa forces Khedira into
heading behind. From the corner, Adrian Lopez connects on the penalty
spot, but his header flies just over the bar. This is going to be a
fascinating match now. Dramatically, it's set up almost perfectly!
39 min: Real try to strike back immediately. A free kick
swung into the area from the right, and headed out of play by Miranda.
Corner from the left. From which the ball ends up at Carvajal's feet,
just to the right of the D. A cross to the far post is way too strong,
and sails harmlessly out of play for a goal kick.
GOAL!!! Real Madrid 0-1 Atlético Madrid (Godin 36)
Koke takes the corner from the right. It's headed out of the area,
but not particularly convincingly. On the edge of the box, Godin goes up
to challenge, more out of hope than anything else. But the ball loops
up and over Casillas, who has rather rashly wandered off his line into
no-man's land - and into the net in slow motion! The keeper ran back in
an attempt to hook it out, but too late! We've got a game on now, all
right!
Diego Godin flicks his header goalwards, with Iker Casillas stranded. Photograph: Shaun Botterill/Getty Images
Updated
35 min: That Bale run seems to have reminded everyone that
they're here to play football. Before it, Koke was sliding into
challenges like a nut down the left, nearly starting a minor brouhaha.
Now Bale challenges for a high ball near the right-hand post, but he
can't connect. And then Atletico go down the other end to win a corner
down the right. From which...
32 min: Suddenly, there's nearly a goal at both ends.Juanfran
whips a low cross into the Real area from the right. Sergio Ramos,
panicking, slices horribly, and there's a bit of pinball in the box, but
Adrian Lopez can't slap a shot away when the ball runs loose. Then Real
go up the other end. The ball's lost, but Tiago gifts it back to Bale,
who makes for the Atlético area with great purpose. He zips down the
inside-right channel, drifts inside, and under pressure from both Tiago
and Miranda, smacks a low shot inches left of the goal. A fine run, and I
wonder what would have happened had he chosen to fall to the turf under
Tiago's nibble inside the area? Honest Gareth! Possibly slightly daft
Gareth!
Real Madrid's Gareth Bale pokes his shot wide. Photograph: Paul Hanna/Reuters
Updated
29 min: "Has the game started yet?" asks Ian Copestake, saying everything that needs to be said in five words. That's a William Carlos Williams scholar for you.
28 min: ... Ronaldo hammers low and straight at Courtois. There was venom behind it, but not a lot of wit was involved.
27 min: Koke whips a cross into the Real area from the left.
With Adrian Lopez lurking, Sergio Ramos slices high into the crowd
behind the goal. The resulting corner is dealt with easily by Real, who
scoot upfield through Di Maria. He's in lots of space down the inside
left, so Raul Garcia slides in from behind and takes him out cynically.
Yellow card. Within seconds, Sergio Ramos completes a slapstick moment by turning up to barge Raul Garcia with his chest. A yellow card for him too. Grown men, and all. Anyway, free kick to Real, from which ...
Updated
24 min: A throw for Atlético deep in Real territory down the
right. Juanfran whips a cross in from near the corner flag, but there's
nobody there in red-and-white to attack it. Real stream up the other end
through Ronaldo, but that's snuffed out quickly enough too.
23 min: ... Courtois gathers with a yawn, Modric wafting a
pretty useless high curler straight into his arms. The box loaded with
danger, as well.
22 min: Gabi is penalised for stepping on the heels of Di
Maria down the left. The referee should have let that go, because
Coentrao had broken from the resulting melee and clear into the area.
But it's a free kick to Real in a dangerous position. From which ...
21 min: Bale drops a shoulder down the right and nearly makes
himself some space, but he's closed down quickly. The ball's shuttled
out right to Carvajal, whose whipped cross is deflected but only into
the hands of Courtois. The volume in the stadium has dropped
considerably.
18 min: There's an ever-growing Gallery
of this game, and you can find it here. Not sure what'll be in it yet,
other than shots of players spraying passes into areas where no players
stand, and folk limping off, but stick with it. Something's got to
happen soon. Hasn't it? Actually, Ancelotti was about in 2003, wasn't he
...
Defender
Garcia Sergio Ramos
Appearances
10
Fouls Committed
6
Bookings
2
Dismissals
1
16 min: Sergio Ramos sticks a leg out across Gabi. The two
then stick their chests out and bang nipples in what presumably is an
impressive display of strength. The referee zips across and reminds the
pair that they are grown adults. We move on.
Updated
15 min: Gabi, in the centre circle, plays a first-time ball
down the middle of the park and isn't far away from releasing Adrian
Lopez. Unfortunately for Atlético, Casillas is out of his area quickly
to hack clear.
13 min: With Xabi Alonso suspended, someone else will have to
try the long-distance nonsense. Raul Garcia has a go, scoring three
rugby points from miles out on the right touchline. Hey, nothing much
else has been going on, it's worth a go. "Diego Costly?" quips Grant
Tennille. Well, we've got plenty of time to find out.
11 min: Raul Garcia and Ronaldo both go up for a high ball.
Ronaldo crashes to the ground, then springs up and throws his arms about
in the expressive style. His manager Ancelotti joins in the dance on
the touchline. The referee can't be bothered with their carry-on. This
isn't up to much so far, but there's a long way to go.
9 min: So there you have it. Diego Costa's hamstring is
jiggered. He's hooked. Adrian Lopez takes his place. That's Harry Kewell
minus 14 minutes! An early blow for Atlético, and Real's fans bounce
around in glee accordingly.
Diego Costa is replaced by Adrian Lopez. Photograph: Javier Soriano/AFP/Getty Images
Updated
8 min: A free kick for Atlético down the inside left. It's
lifted into the box. Diego Costa and Villa challenge the high ball, and
there's some head tennis. Eventually Diego Costa has a bit of time to
the right of goal, but can't manufacture a cross or shot, and clanks the
ball out of play for a goal kick. It's not much, but they've done
little going forward so far, so it's something.
6 min: The ball falls to Benzema's feet on the edge of the
Atlético D. He tries to ... well, I don't know what he tries. A back
heel? A drag back? A soft-shoe shuffle in the style of the pre-match
contemporary dance troupe? Whatever, it doesn't come off, and the ball
rolls through to Courtois. A chance to shoot or set up an attack
spurned.
5 min: It's a little bitty, so far, this. Atlético are
sitting deep, and Real have no space to release Ronaldo or Bale into, as
is their wont. A long ball's hoicked into the Atlético area from the
right. Ronaldo clatters into the back of Juanfran, but doesn't bother to
make even a token claim for a penalty kick. An easy decision for the
referee to make, then.
David Villa vies with Raphael Varane. Photograph: Gerard Julien/AFP/Getty Images
Updated
3 min: Real are enjoying most of the early ball, but they're
doing precious little with it. Atlético standing firm at the back, as
Atlético do. Mind you, there's already been a demonstration of
top-quality defence this evening. A team of ten Greenpeace campaigners
were lifted by a gaggle of local bobbies as they tried to fix a
50-metre-squared STOP GAZPROM – SAVE THE ARCTIC banner from the roof. Do
UniCredit attract this level of opprobrium?
And we're off! Real get the match going, and pass it around a
wee bit. Atlético concede a foul on the 12-second mark. Real do nothing
with the free kick.
The atmosphere in the stadium is something else. Not least
because the fans are attempting to drown out the caterwauling of a large
choir on the pitch, as a potted version of Portugal's colonial
nautical history is told via the medium of contemporary dance. Why does
anyone bother? Then a smooth jazz version of Champions League anthem
Not Zadok The Priest, sung by a woman who hits all the proper notes, as a
famous Lancastrian comedian once said, but not necessarily in the right
order. The players are on the pitch, and hands have been shaken. We're
nearly good to go!
The players have been out on the pitch warming up. In lieu of anything interesting happening, here's pictorial proof ...
Real ...... and
Atlético
Everyone looks happy enough, which is nice. Let's see how long that lasts once the first reducer goes in.
Never mind Real Madrid's tenth European Cup win; Carlo Ancelotti's on the verge of something special tonight, too.
The former Milan boss could join an elite group of managers who have
won the trophy with two clubs: Ottmar Hitzfeld (Dortmund and Bayern),
Ernst Happel (Feyenoord and Hamburg), Jose Mourinho (Porto and
Internazionale), and Jupp Heynckes (Real Madrid and Bayern). Not only
that, he'd become only the second boss in history to win the trophy
three times, after Sir Bob Paisley of Liverpool. Diego Simeone will be happy enough with his first, I should imagine.
Much better to concentrate on the positives, isn't it. And
it's about time a player scored a hat-trick in one of these here finals.
How about it, someone, huh? Nobody's managed one in the Champions
League era, with only Daniele Massaro (Milan 1994), Karlheinz Riedle
(Borussia Dortmund 1997), Hernan Crespo (Milan 2005), Pippo Inzaghi
(Milan 2007) and Diego Milito (Internazionale 2010) coming close.
Pierino Prati of Milan was the last man to hit a hat-trick in European
Cup days, for Milan back in 1969. Real Madrid's Alfredo di Stefano
managed one in 1960 at Hampden, too, but he was upstaged by his
team-mate Ferenc Puskas, who scored four against Eintracht
Frankfurt at Hampden. Mind you, everything in context, and all that.
Here's Eintracht keeper Egon Loy in action that night ...
Ball (l), the spectacular Egon Loy (r)
Diego Costa, Pepe, Sergio Ramos ... anyway, for the record,
there have only ever been two sendings off in European Cup or Champions
League finals. Predictably, seeing English pundits have spent the last
59 years of European competition whining about cheating foreign sides,
both of the teams who found themselves down to ten men were from
Blighty. Haw. The guilty men: Arsenal's Jens Lehmann in 2006, and
Chelsea's Didier Drogba a couple of years later. Behave, everyone, now.
So Diego Costa has made it after all. Whether his hamstring
is up to it or not, only the first 23 minutes will tell. Will he add to
his 35-goal haul this season, or is he fated to be the Harry Kewell de nos jours?
No such luck for his team-mate Arda Turan, who doesn't even make the
bench. As for Real, both of their main injury worries have made the
teamsheet: Karim Benzema is in the starting XI, while Pepe is on the
bench. Perhaps if Costa is forced to go off early, he and Pepe can enjoy
a donnybrook there.
Dramatis personæ
Real Madrid: Casillas, Carvajal, Varane, Sergio Ramos, Fabio Coentrao, Modric, Khedira, Di Maria, Bale, Benzema, Ronaldo.
Subs: Diego Lopez, Pepe, Marcelo, Arbeloa, Morata, Isco, Illarramendi.
Atlético Madrid: Courtois, Juanfran, Miranda, Godin, Filipe Luis, Raul Garcia, Gabi, Tiago, Koke, Villa, Diego Costa.
Subs: Aranzubia, Mario Suarez, Adrian, Rodriguez, Alderweireld, Diego, Sosa. Referee: Bjorn Kuipers (Holland)
These two teams have only met once before in the European Cup or Champions League. That
was in 1959 at the semi-final stage, and the tie proved a tight one.
Real won the first leg 2-1 at the Bernabeu, though they had to come from
behind, Chuzo opening the scoring on 13 minutes, Héctor Rial levelling
it up two minutes later, and Ferenc Puskás putting away a penalty on 33
minutes to seal the win. Atlético won the second leg at the Estadio
Metropolitano thanks to Enrique Collar's 43rd-minute goal. That meant a
replay at La Romareda in Zaragoza, with Real prevailing 2-1, Alfredo di
Stefano opening the scoring, Collar equalising, and Puskas restoring his
side's lead before the break. Four successive finals for Real, that
made it. No joy for Atlético in the domestic head-to-head either, with Real winning 102 league and cup games to Atlético's 46.
And this season, while Atlético enjoyed the better of it in La Liga
with a win at the Bernabeu and a draw at the Vicente Calderón, Real won a
two-legged Copa del Rey tie 5-0 on aggregate. Po' Atlético! Po
Atlético's a-cold! Having said all that: it's Atlético who are used to winning stuff right now.
Not only do they have this year's Spanish league in the bag, they're
also confident on the continent, having won the Europa League in 2010
and 2012. Of course, the most relevant information will come with this evening's team sheets. Diego
Costa has been rolling around in vats of horse placenta all week, while
mainlining horse placenta smoothies, in the hope of repairing a
hamstring tear. Atlético are also sweating on the state of Arda Turan's
pelvis. Real, meanwhile, already without the idiotically suspended Xabi
Alonso, are concerned about the fitness of Pepe and Karim Benzema. Much
may depend on all this. Or maybe nothing will. To be honest, we're just
filling in time with inane waffle, it's what you have to do on the
internet these days it seems. Anyway, the most important news
is that Atlético, nominally the away side tonight, have been given
special dispensation to wear their famous first-choice red-and-white
shirts and blue shorts. Well, well, a good decision by Uefa.
Atlético's shirts will sport a subtle reference to Luis Aragonés, who
died in February and would have won the 1974 final for Atlético had
Schwarzenbeck not did his thing. Real will, of course, be in their
renowned all-white clobber. A classic look for all: it's a good start
for our hopes of a classic final.
Aesthetically pleasing: Gareth Bale with Filipe Luis in hot pursuit
Forty-seven long years ago, give or take a day, arguably the most romantic European Cup final of all took place at the Estádio Nacional in Lisbon.
Jock Stein's up-and-coming Celtic fell a goal behind early doors to
Helenio Herrera's all-conquering Internazionale, but then proceeded to
take the game to the Italian champions with reckless, glorious abandon.
They ended up thrashing Inter 2-1. A joyous pitch invasion took place.
Several players found themselves stripped to their kex and socks. The
presentation was held up for several minutes, forcing Uefa apparatchiks
to nudge Celtic captain Billy 'Cesar' McNeill towards the podium in a
car, a nice touch considering his monicker. (As one of the few Celtic
players at the time to own his own vehicle, McNeill naturally found
himself named after actor Cesar Romero, the getaway driver in the
popular movie caper Ocean's 11.)
Cesar plus military types (who always add a
certain old-school glamour to a major trophy presentation, in my book,
but that's a discussion for another day)The cavaliers had seen off the roundheads. Herrera's joyless reign of catenaccio was
over. Stein had become, in the words of Bill Shankly, "immortal". The
trophy had finally been wrested from Latin Europe, Britain had its first
European champions, and they'd all come from within a stone's throw of
Parkhead to boot. There were some pretty trees in the background.
Cesar leads the lads outTimes change, and there'll be nothing quite like all that
innocent gallivanting this evening, as Lisbon (this time at Benfica's
shiny new Estádio da Luz) hosts the biggest match in European club football for the second time.
But that's not to say another stone-cold classic is beyond the realms!
For tonight sees the first final in the 59-year history of the European
Cup to be contested by rivals from the same city! Real Madrid have made
their first final in 12 years, and they're looking for a record tenth
win in the competition. (Let's not call it La Décima, we're not
Sid Lowe, we don't live in Madrid, we just sound preposterous borrowing
that patter.) Atlético Madrid are in their second final, and their first
for 40 years, having come within one minute and 35 yards of the trophy
in 1974, denied by a ludicrous late potshot by Bayern Munich's Hans-Georg Schwarzenbeck, then thrashed 4-0 in the only final replay in the competition's history. (Have a wee look-see at this Gerd Muller masterclass.)
Both want this real bad, then, for obvious but very different reasons.
And both have the wherewithal to seize the prize: Atlético have just won
the Spanish league; Real have the upper hand in the head-to-heads this
year. This could go either way. This could be a match to savour, and to
remember. This is ON! Kick off: 7.45pm local time, 7.45pm in the Guardian's Britain.
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