2016 Champions League Final: Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid
It will be a Madrid derby in Milan that will decide the winner of the 2016 UEFA Champions League. Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid will underline the growing dominance of Spanish clubs at the iconic San Siro stadium on Saturday, 28 May.
It would be a repeat of the 2014 final which was decided in extra-time resulting in La Decima for Real Madrid. The city rivalry of these two teams adds more spice to what promises to be an exciting finale.
Road to the Final
Real Madrid had one of the luckier paths to the Final. They topped their group and then cruised past AS Roma and Wolfsburg to reach the semi-finals. A tight contest against Manchester City in the semis was claimed dramatically at the Bernabeu through a solitary goal from Gareth Bale.
Atletico Madrid, on the other hand, had their backs against walls from the outset. They finished first in their group but were stretched to penalties in the round-of-16 by PSV Eindhoven. They later turned up in style in the quarter-finals knocking out favorites Barcelona. If that wasn’t enough, the giant killers then took out Bayern Munich in the semis endearing themselves to all the neutrals.
Talking points: Coaches
There was lot of skepticism when Zinedine Zidane took charge at Real Madrid after a bad start to the season. But he proved them wrong and led his side to second in La Liga and stretching Barcelona till the last match. That doesn’t, however, say anything about the team which still is struggling to dominate matches. A win in Milan will help Zidane join a select club of people who won the Champions League both as a player and coach.
Diego Simeone has been a revelation at Atletico having managed to punch above the weight with the limited resources at disposal and takes pride in the results. Having already lost his chance earlier to the same opposition, Simeone would want his charges to win him the first Champions League title.
Talking points: Players
Antoine Griezmann is in fine form this season and should lead the attack for Atletico. Back him to find the net anytime in the game.
Gareth Bale’s stint at Real has always been in the backdrop of his costly transfer. Injury to Cristiano Ronaldo is a boon to Bale who should revel in leading the charge. Back him to be on the scoring sheet.
Champions League Final Prediction
This is one derby that has always been close to call. Atletico dominated the last ten games with just one loss, across competitions. Back them at odds of $3.1 to end up victors. The match could be a tight one and decided on penalties.
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