Real Madrid surmounted an early scare against a charged atmosphere at the Vicente Calderon to progress to the final of the UEFA Champions League.
Billed to be a top clash, the game lived up to expectations. It was an end-to-end encounter that had fans and neutrals alike gripping the edges of their seats!
Atletico played with passion and belief. Nothing less was expected from a Diego Simeone side.
A ray of hope followed the superb header by Saul Niguez in the 12th minute placed beyond the despairing grasp of Keylor. A clumsy challenge by Casemiro earned in the eighteen earned a penalty for Fernando Torres.
Antoine Griezmann stepped up and had a fortunate end as Navas could have saved the centered placement in the 16thminute.
The deafening noise and roar of approval in the stadium signaled a dominant spell for the home side and they could have scored the third but for some brilliant saves by Navas.
The tone however changed when Karim Benzema weaved his long forgotten magic.
The French took the ball on the lines and left Atletico rear guard glued before releasing a pass to Kroos whose shot was parried into the path of influential Isco.
Alarcon wasted no time in cooling slotting the loose ball home to temporarily silence the loud noise from the home fans.
At that point, it became obvious that Atletico may have left themselves too much to do to proceed to the finals.
Real Madrid took control in the second half with Modric, Kroos, Isco and Marcelo running rings around Simeone’s men.
Los Blancos talisman, Christiano Ronaldo could have evened things out midway into the second half but he didn’t wrap his foot around the ball and scoffed the shot wide inches off the mark.
Madrid and Zidane held on to book a date with Turin giants, Juventus in the finals to be played in Wales on June 3rd. It promises to be a cracker!
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