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An historic tenth Champions League title awaits Real Madrid, but crosstown rivals Atletico Madrid are eager to cap off a stunning season with victory on the biggest club stage in Europe. Join us for live scores and commentary from 4:30am AEST.
Tonight’s Champions League final promises to be one of the most absorbing in living memory.
Real and Atletico are genuine rivals and both possess the attitude and the roster required to lift club football’s most important trophy.
The pressure is certainly on Real tonight to secure the famed decima. A defeat here will not sit well with the club, so expect the nine-time European champions to be the more aggressive of the two teams tonight.
Atletico on the other hand are already champions in most people’s eyes. They claimed the La Liga title last week after drawing against FC Barcelona away from home, thus ending the Barcelona-Real duopoly that has been a constant feature of La Liga for many years.
The draw against Barcelona last week pretty much sums up Atletico’s season.
They had their backs firmly against the wall after losing Diego Costa and Arda Turan early in the contest to injury, yet still managed to come back from a goal down to secure the draw needed to clinch the La Liga title.
In short, Atletico never give up. Ever. They will push Real to the end tonight, and Los Merengues better be up for a fight.
Atletico have concerns surrounding the fitness of Costa and Turan, and it would be a huge blow if both of these players were to miss the final tonight.
The absence of Xabi Alonso for Real is also significant. He is one of the best defensive midfielders on the planet, and his absence may just grant Atletico an edge in that department given the strong form of midfielders such as Koke, Arda Turan, Tiago and Gabi.
In defence, Atletico have proven practically impossible to break down all season. Miranda, Felipe Luiz, Diego Godin, Juanfran and Thibaut Courtois have all had career-defining seasons, and will once again fancy their chances of stopping a Real attack containing superstars Gareth Bale, Cristiano Ronaldo, Angel Di Maria and Karim Benzema.
Atletico have thrived playing against Europe’s best clubs. They are capable of causing the upset tonight, thus claiming a Champions League title which would cap off a stunning season.
Atletico to win on penalties