© EuroFootball.com
May 24th - an extraordinary day for Spanish football. The UEFA Champions League has reached its final stage, with two Madrid teams, "Real" against "Atletico," set to clash in the tournament final.
"Real Madrid" - "Atletico Madrid"
Tournament: UEFA Champions League
Stadium: Estadio da Luz (Lisbon, Portugal)
Referee: Bjorn Kuipers (Netherlands)
Date and time: 2014-05-24, 21:45
Madrid's "Real" club finally made it to the final after many attempts and aims to win their tenth trophy, but the other capital team, Madrid's "Atletico," in great sporting form this season, promises to create a sensation in Portugal.
In the Champions League, it will be a historic match as two teams from the same city will meet in the final. This season, both clubs already have one title each in their collection. Diego Simeone's pupils at "Real" surpassed in the "Primera" championship, while Carlo Ancelotti's pupils excelled in the King's Cup. One part of Madrid will celebrate today, while the other will mourn (AFP photo) The teams' path to the final Madrid's "Real" club started their journey in this season's Champions League from Group B, where they had to compete against Turin's "Juventus," Istanbul's "Galatasaray," and "Copenhagen." The Royal Cup winners had no difficulties in this group and with five wins and one draw, the "Whites" entered the quarterfinals.
There they faced Gelzenkirchen's "Schalke" team. The Germans could not resist and were humiliated with an overall score of 9-2. In the quarterfinals, C. Ancelotti's team crushed Dortmund's "Borussia" 3-0 in the first match, but in the return leg, they had to sweat it out when they lost in Germany 2-0.
In the semifinals, "Real" also couldn't avoid the team from the "Bundesliga" championship. This time, a threatening Munich "Bayern" stood in the way of the Spanish team, but somewhat unexpectedly, Josep Guardiola's troops were humiliated. The hosts in Madrid only managed a minimal victory, but at the "Allianz" stadium, the Bavarians suffered a 0-4 defeat.
"Atletico" enjoyed glory in Spain last weekend (Anadolu Agency photo) Meanwhile, Madrid's "Atletico" began their journey in Group G. D. Simeone's pupils also easily took the top spot and moved on to the next stage. The "Rojiblancos" competed in the group with the teams from St. Petersburg's "Zenit," "Porto," and Vienna's "Austria."
In the quarterfinals, "Atletico" easily defeated the struggling team of "Milan." The overall result between these clubs was recorded as 5-1. In the next stage, the "Primera" champions faced another Spanish team - "Barcelona." In the first match, "Atletico" played a draw with the Catalans, and in the second match, they showed superiority with a minimal difference.
For the Spanish capital's footballers, the path to the final had to be fought with London's "Chelsea" for a ticket. At the "Vicente Calderon" stadium, D. Simeone's pupils couldn't break the "Blues' defense, but in London, they secured a solid victory, 1-3.
Head-to-head statistics This season, both teams faced each other four times. The first meeting took place in the "Primera" championship, and "Atletico" won with a 0-1 result, but "Real" took revenge in the King's Cup, winning easily in the first semifinal match, as well as in the second.
The last Madrid derby took place at the beginning of March when the teams faced each other in the second "Primera" championship encounter. The winner was not determined in the "Vicente Calderon" fortress, and the teams parted with a 2-2 draw. In their encounters, there is no shortage of clashes between players (Reuters photo) In total, these teams have played against each other 264 times throughout history. "Real" has won 143 times, "Atletico" 64 times, and 57 matches ended in a draw. In this city derby, goals are never in short supply, and a total of 820 goals have been scored in the history of the clubs.
In the Champions League, "Atletico" has faced "Real" only three times. The Royal club proved superiority twice, while "Atletico" did so once.
In the prestigious final of the Old Continent's tournament, "Los Merengues" played 12 times and lifted the trophy 9 times. The new Spanish champions cannot boast such statistics, and they played only once in the final, where they were defeated by Munich's "Bayern" players.
Final losses The "Real" team had problems with players' health after their victorious semifinal. The biggest concern for C. Ancelotti was Cristiano Ronaldo, who had not played for a long time, and there were doubts about whether he could play in Lisbon, but the captain of the Portuguese national team is currently ready to help his teammates.
It remains unclear whether defender Pepe and forward Karim Benzema, who plays in the attacking position, will step onto the field from the first minutes, but the best is expected. A big loss in the "White" ranks is Xabi Alonso, who is suspended due to yellow cards and will only be able to watch the game from the stands.
"Atletico" also failed to go unscathed without injuries. A few days ago, there was almost no doubt that the team's top scorer, Diego Costa, would not play against "Real," but the Spaniard was registered for the match, and he is expected to be seen on the field. Meanwhile, defender Arda Turan, injured over the weekend, will be included in the starting lineup.
Predicted winner A large portion of football fans believe that financially struggling "Atletico" will be left without a title, but some are convinced that this final is unpredictable, and any mistake could determine the winner of the match.
Visitors to the "Eurofootball.com" football news portal participated in a poll where they were asked about the winner.
Altogether, 2215 visitors expressed their opinion, and 1330 (60%) believe that Madrid's "Real" will triumph, 750 (34%) visitors believe in the success of the "Atletico" club, while the remaining portion is undecided.
Preview of the match:
