The match is over. The fans gathered at Atletico Madrid’s home ground, the Metropolitano Stadium, are in a state of shock. The team has lost very closely to Real Madrid. But in the meantime, Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone wanted to cheer the fans up. The Argentine coach wanted to be greeted with the football gift that his team gave in both legs.
Atletico’s exit to Real in the Champions Trophy is nothing new. They have lost in the final twice. However, the loss at the Metropolitano Stadium may burn Atletico fans a little differently. The way Julián Alvarez’s penalty was canceled or Antoni Rudiger’s shot was deflected into the net by Jan Oblak… Atletico may have regrets.
However, Real Madrid did not give up either. After conceding a goal in just 27 seconds on the opponent’s field, they fought for the entire 120 minutes. They held their nerve even after Vinicius Junior missed a penalty. They won the match in a dramatic tiebreaker.
Atletico beat Real Madrid 1-0 in regulation time, but the match was tied 2-2 on aggregate. Real Madrid eventually won 4-2 on penalties. In the penalty shootout, Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham, Federico Valverde and Antonio Rudiger all had goals, but Lucas Vázquez missed. On the other hand, Atletico had goals from Alexander Sorloth and Angel Correio, but Alvarez and Marcos Llorente missed.
Alvarez did, however, put the ball in the net. He had a penalty that was called the ‘top of the net’. But VAR changed that. The Argentine star lost control a little before taking a shot with his right foot, which also hit his left foot. And because of the ‘double touch’, the goal was disallowed even though the ball went into the net.
The match started off very well for Atletico. It didn’t take Real a minute to lose the first leg lead. Connor Gallagher scored a goal in just 27 seconds from a great attack. This was Atletico’s fastest goal in the Champions League. An exciting match began immediately after this goal. Real attacked fiercely. Atletico also gave their all from counter-pressing.
However, Real Madrid was losing ground to Atletico’s box. Real was as aggressive outside the D-box as they were in the D-box. In the meantime, Atletico had two great chances to go ahead on aggregate.
Thibaut Courtois saved Real with great goalkeeping in the 25th minute. Atletico came close to scoring again in the 35th minute. However, this time the hosts were disappointed for a short time. A little later, Courtois frustrated Alvarez again.
In the 68th minute, Real Madrid had one of the best chances of the match. Kylian Mbappe sprinted past two Atletico defenders. Clement Lenglet was then forced to foul him. Madrid were awarded a penalty, although Vinicius missed it.
The rest of the match was a mix of attack and counterattack, but no goals were scored. The aggregate score was 2-2 after 90 and 120 minutes. From there, Real Madrid won a memorable tie-break victory.
