Cristiano Ronaldo netted the decisive goal as Real Madrid claimed their 11th Champions League title with a 5-3 victory over Atletico Madrid on penalties after extra time had ended in a 1-1 draw at the San Siro on Saturday night.
Match summary
Los Blancos made a perfect start to the match, claiming the lead after just 15 minutes through Sergio Ramos’ close-range finish.
Atletico recovered well from conceding the early goal and threatened to draw level on more than one occasion through the lively Antoine Griezmann. However, Real saw out the remainder of the first half with relative ease, taking a slender advantage into the half-time interval.
Los Colchoneros came flying out of the traps in the second stanza and won a penalty after just one minute, only for Griezmann to strike the crossbar from the resulting spot-kick.
It looked like it just wasn’t meant to be for Atletico after the missed a series of good chances, with Real coming back into the match as the second half wore on.
And, just moments after Bale saw his low shot cleared off the line, Atletico levelled matters when Yannick Carrasco volley home from close range.
Real redoubled their efforts in extra time, trying their luck from range on more than one occasion. However, with neither side able to fashion a clear-cut opportunity, the match headed to a penalty shootout.
Both teams netted all three of their opening spot-kicks, and after Sergio Ramos netted Real’s fourth, Juanfran saw his penalty come back off the left-hand post.
Ronaldo stepped up to take Real’s fifth spot-kick and made no mistake, converting with aplomb to send their supporters into wild celebrations.
Full report
The match started at a good tempo, with both sides looking to grab an early lead at a packed San Siro.
Atletico had the first chance of the game, Koke firing a tame shot straight at Keylor Navas after just five minutes of play.
However, Real should have claimed the lead just one minute later when Casemiro met Gareth Bale’s inswinging free-kick just six yards out. However, the midfielder failed to make solid contact and Atleti Jan Oblak got enough on the ball to keep it out.
Real continued to press forward in search of the opener and eventually got the breakthrough they were looking for in the 15th minute, following a well worked free-kick. Toni Kroos sent the ball towards the danger area and Bale got his head to the ball, flicking it into the path of Ramos, who bundled the ball over the line from close range.
Atletico had struggled to impose themselves on proceedings, but managed to steady the ship after falling behind and grew in confidence as the half wore on.
In fact, they ended the first half on the front foot after creating a series of good scoring chances.
Juanfran fired over the bar from outside the box in the 25th minute, while Griezmann saw his long-range effort comfortably snapped up by Keylor Navas in the centre of the Real goal on 34 minutes.
And Griezmann proved to be Atleti’s main attacking outlet in the final five minutes of the half as Fernando Torres failed to make an impact.
However, the France international could not find the cutting edge in front of goal, firing straight at Navas again in the 40th minute, before shooting wide from outside the box on the stroke of half-time.
Having produced a disappointing performance in the first half, Atletico would have undoubtedly been on the receiving end of the hairdryer treatment at the half-time break.
Diego Simeone’s men responded in kind at the start of the second half, winning a penalty inside the first minute of play following Pepe’s foul on Torres just inside the area. However, the chance went abegging as Griezmann fired the resulting spot-kick against the crossbar to let Real off the hook.
Determined not let that missed chance derail their charge, Atletico redoubled their efforts.
However, efforts from Stefan Savic, Koke and Saul Niguez failed to find the mark as Real were forced to sit back and soak up the pressure. Savic, in particular, will be bitterly disappointed after failing to force the ball home from just six yards out.
Having weathered the storm, Real slowly began to claw their way back into contention. they should have doubled their lead in the 72nd minute when Karim Benzema raced clear on the right flank and made a driving run into the danger area. However, rather than slip the ball into the path of a teammate, the Frenchman elected to shoot, and Oblak did well to deny the striker.
Torres, who had been virtually anonymous apart from winning the penalty at the start of the half, had a great chance to level the scores three minutes later, but headed over from Filipe Luis’ inviting cross.
Real hit back with two chances in quick succession, though, Ronaldo firing straight into the arms of a Oblak, before Bale saw his angled shot cleared off the line following a frantic scramble in the box.
Just when it seemed Real would force a second, Atletico struck in the 79th minute. Juanfran, bombing down the right-hand flank, whipped a first-time cross into the danger area, where half-time substitute Carrasco nipped ahead of his marker to slam the ball into the roof of the net with a close-range volley.
Torres went agonisingly close to netting a winner just four minutes later, but fired wide from the right-hand side of the six-yard box. And that was the last chance of note as the opening 90 minutes drew to a close with a series of free-kicks at both ends of the pitch.
Despite looking somewhat fatigued, Real started the first half of extra time brightly, Casemiro seeing his speculative effort from range snapped up by Oblak, before Bale fired high and wide from outside the box.
And they were left ruing their luck in the 94th minute when Ronaldo’s mistimed header came back of his knee before being gratefully collected by Oblak.
Zinedine Zidane’s men continued to create chances, but failed to cause Oblak any real problems as both Luka Modric and Danilo failed to hit the target with respective shots from outside the box.
Atletico eventually lodged their first effort of extra time on goal on the stroke of half-time, Griezmann firing over with an acrobatic bicycle kick from the right-hand side of the box.
The second half of extra time proved to be a stop-start affair as both sides showed signs of severe fatigue. And with neither side able to create any clear-cut chances the match ended in a 1-1 draw, going to the lottery of a penalty shootout.
Lucas Vazques, Marcelo, Bale and Ramos netted Real’s first four spot-kicks, while Griezmann, Gabi and Saul Niguez converted for Atleti, before Juanfran saw his penalty come back off the left-hand post.
Ronaldo stepped up to take the fifth and decisive penalty for Real and kept his nerve, sending the keeper the wrong way to seal a 5-3 win on penalties.
