Postgame analysis: 11th title is the sweetest >>
Final, 1-1 (Real Madrid wins penalty-kick shootout 4-3): Real Madrid joins its illustrious predecessors among the ranks of European champions.
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Penalty kicks: Ronaldo has won it. Real Madrid wins the Champions League by beating Atletico Madrid for the second time in three years in the final.
Ronaldo can win it for Real Madrid.
— Juanfran hits the post.
— Ramos scores. Real Madrid takes a 4-3 lead.
— Saul scores to make it 3-3.
— Bale rolls his shot inside the post. Real Madrid leads 3-2.
— Gabi ties the shoot-out at 2-2.
— Marcelo shoots second for Real Madrid. The Brazilian converts from the penalty spot.
— Griezmann returns to the penalty spot, as Atletico Madrid’s first shooter. And he scores.
— Vasquez scores Real Madrid’s first penalty kick.
End of extra time: The game ends 1-1, and penalty kicks will determine whether the European Cup accompanies Real Madrid or Atletico Madrid back to the Spanish capital.
Real Madrid has played 14 Champions League/European Cup finals since 1956. Atletico Madrid has appeared in three. However, neither has ever endured the beautifully cruel lottery that is a penalty-kick shootout in the final.
120th minute, 1-1: There will be two minutes added time in the second extra-time period.
119th minute, 1-1: Hernandez blocks Vasquez’s shot, which might have scored had he not intervened.
115th minute, 1-1: There’s some pushing and shoving between Ramos and Juanfran.
The two must make nice after the game. They’re both on Spain’s national team for the 2016 UEFA European Championship, which kicks off in less than two weeks’ time.
Meanwhile, Simeone replaces Koke with Thomas Partey, a 22-year-old midfielder.
Let’s see if Atletico Madrid reaps the benefits of waiting this long to use their substitutions.
112th minute, 1-1: The referee cautions Pepe for a foul on Gabi.
108th minute, 1-1: Simeone replaces left back Felipe Luis, who limps off in exhaustion, with Lucas Hernández.
Hernandez, 20, nominally is a center back but he looks set to take up a role in the wide area of defense.
106th minute, 1-1: The second half of extra time is under way.
105th minute, 1-1: That’s the end of the first half of extra time.
101st minute, 1-1: The first period of extra time is as tense and competitive as the 90 minutes that preceded it. Real Madrid hasn’t translated its possession and territory advantages into clear-cut scoring chances. Atletico Madrid is too competent and committed to the defensive side of the game for that.
94th minute, 1-1: Ronaldo heads Isco’s corner kick. It takes a deflection and flies straight to a grateful Oblak.
93rd minute, 1-1: The referee cautions Danilo for a robust challenge on Carrasco.
End of normal time: The second half ends tied, sending the game to extra time.
We should have seen this coming all along.
There will be two, 15-minute periods. If the score remains tied at the end of extra time, penalty kicks will determine the winner.
90th minute +3, 1-1: The referee cautions Ramos for slicing down Carrasco, ending the goal-scorers break-away attempt.
Godin protests forcefully that the referee should have sent off Ramos. The referee cautions the Atletico Madrid defender
90th minute, 1-1: There will be a minimum of three minutes of added time in the second half. Extra time beckons unless the plot turns dramatically … again.
83rd minute, 1-1: Torres makes a mess of a promising scoring chance at the near post. The veteran Atletico Madrid striker said Friday this game is the biggest of his career, but he’s having a nightmare in Milan.
82nd minute, 1-1: Carrasco’s goal marked a stunning turn of events, as Bale nearly doubled Real Madrid’s lead seconds earlier. Such is the danger of Ateltico Madrid’s speedy counter-attacks. It’s how Simeone’s team has played since his arrival as head coach in 2011.
79th minute, 1-1: And Carrasco ties the score with 12 minutes remaining in normal time. Juanfran assists the goal with a hard cross to the far post.
Simeone’s tactical gamble pays off handsomely, as Carrasco represents his club, country and family with aplomb.
79th minute, 1-0 Real Madrid: Savic sweeps Bale’s shot off the goal line, as Real Madrid nearly scores the decisive second.
78th minute, 1-0 Real Madrid: Ronaldo has his first shot on goal, but Oblak scoops it up comfortably.
77th minute, 1-0 Real Madrid: Lucas Vazquez replaces Benzema in Real Madrid’s third, and final, substitution.
Head coach Zinedine Zidane inserts the 24-year-old winger into the fray with hopes of securing yet another game.
72nd minute, 1-0 Real Madrid: Isco is replacing Kroos in Real Madrid’s second substitution.
70th minute, 1-0 Real Madrid: Oblak denies Karim Benzema at the near post after the Real Madrid striker raced in behind the defense. Oblak left his line quickly and cut down the angle.
61st minute, 1-0 Real Madrid: The referee cautions Torres for kicking Ramos out of apparent frustration.
59th minute, 1-0 Real Madrid: Saul volleys a shot just wide of Navas’ goal, as Atletico Madrid increases the pressure on Real Madrid.
54th minute, 1-0 Real Madrid: Savic stabs a shot agonizingly wide after Godin headed Koke’s corner kick his way.
51st minute, 1-0 Real Madrid: Carvajal limps off the field with an apparent injury.
Danilo replaces Carvajal, who was carrying a yellow card, at right fullback.
47th minute, 1-0 Real Maddrid: Navas’ mind games and yellow card seemed to be worth it.
46th minute, 1-0 Real Madrid: Griezmann bangs his shot off the crossbar, and Real Madrid maintains its lead.
Griezmann joins select company he’d rather not be a part of.
46th minute, 1-0 Real Madrid: The referee has given Atletico Madrid a penalty kick.
Pepe collided with Fernando Torres, and the referee points to the penalty spot. It’s Torres’ first meaningful contribution.
The referee cautions Navas for wasting time. He’s trying to unsettle Griezmann.
46th minute, 1-0 Real Madrid: The second half is under way.
Atletico Madrid made a substitution at halftime, replacing holding midfielder Augusto Fernandez with winger Yannick Carrasco.
Halftime, 1-0 Real Madrid: That’s the end of the first half. Real Madrid leads by one.
The first half was as competitive as we expected, and Real Madrid emerges with a narrow lead. It was just rewarded for its fine display in the first 30 minutes, but controversy shrouds Ramos’ goal, as replays show he was slightly offside before scoring.
Nevertheless, Atletico Madrid must do something it hasn’t done in almost three years and no team has managed to accomplish this season: catch Real Madrid from behind.
45th minute, 1-0 Real Madrid: There will be a minimum of one minute of added time in the first half.
43rd minute, 1-0 Real Madrid: Griezmann rolls a shot from 25 yards out, but it bounces wide of Navas’ goal.
42nd minute, 1-0 Real Madrid: Ronaldo, on the other hand, has been curiously quiet. The Real Madrid superstar has played centrally for most of the first half, but Savic and Godin have shackled him, while his teammates haven’t given him much service.
36th minute, 1-0 Real Madrid: Griezmann volleys a shot on goal (but it’s offside). It comes one minute after he curled a long-range shot straight at goalkeeper Keylor Navas.
Griezmann, Atletico Madrid’s danger man, has been more active in recent minutes, boding well for his team’s prospects.
33rd minute, 1-0 Real Madrid: The game is starting to even out on balance of play, as Atletico Madrid asserts itself around the half-hour mark. We can’t blame nerves for Atletico Madrid’s slow start. Instead, give Real Madrid credit for playing well and making Atletico Madrid uncomfortable.
25th minute, 1-0 Real Madrid: Atletico Madrid still is struggling to stamp any authority on proceedings. Real Madrid is showing high energy with their defensive pressing and moving the ball quickly when they recover it. Time will tell how long the teams persist in these roles.
17th minute, 1-0 Real Madrid: Ramos’ goal shouldn’t change the teams’ respective approaches too much. Atletico Madrid has 75 minutes to claw back a goal. Real Madrid will look to assert control and add to its lead.
Real Madrid has advantages in both possession and territory, and Ramos’ goal rewards his team.
Atletico Madrid will be disappointed at conceding a number of free kicks in dangerous areas. Oblak bailed his team out the first time but couldn’t be the hero again.
15th minute, 1-0 Real Madrid: Captain Sergio Ramos has given Real Madrid the lead on the quarter-hour mark. Gareth Bale flicked Kroos’ free kick into the six yard box, and Ramos scored with the slightest of touches.
Ramos might have been offside when Bale headed the ball.
Ramos scored the game-tying goal late in the 2014 final and he causes Atletico Madrid more pain with another big-game goal.
10th minute, 0-0: The referee cautions Real Madrid’s Dani Carvajal for hacking down Antoine Griezmann near the sidelines. Carvajal’s tackle was unnecessarily timed and powerful, and the yellow card is deserved. The Real Madrid right back must be careful, and Atletico Madrid might attack his side more often.
Sixth minute, 0-0: Jan Oblak makes a fantastic reflex save on Casemiro’s shot from point-blank range.
Gareth Bale lofted the free kick into Atletico Madrid’s penalty area, and Casemiro darted in and volleyed a shot on target.
Third minute, 0-0: We expected this to be a cagey affair, and the slow start is no surprise. Neither side wants to suffer early punishment for taking unnecessary risks out of the starting gate.
Kickoff: The 2016 UEFA Champions League Final is under way.
Pregame: There are few surprises in the starting lineups.
Those who witnessed Real Madrid defeat Atletico Madrid in the 2014 Final will recognize at least half of the players who will start this year’s showdown.
We’re expecting a clash of styles. Real Madrid’s powerful front three against Atletico Madrid’s 11-man, air-tight defense.
Center-back Jose Gimenez started seven games in Atletico Madrid’s journey to Milan, including both legs of the semifinal triumph over Bayern Munich. But the highly rated young defender must settle for a place on the bench, as Diego Godín and Stefan Savic form the heart of Atletico Madrid’s back four.
Unheralded Casemiro will be key to Real Madrid’s success. The 24-year-old Brazilian does much of the dirty work in Real Madrid’s midfield, shielding the defense and covering for ball-players Toni Kroos and Luka Modric. His presence gives Real Madrid a balance it lacked earlier this season under Rafa Benitez.
2:15 p.m.: Here are the starting lineups:
Atletico Madrid
Peek inside Atletico Madrid’s dressing room.
Real Madrid
Have a look inside Real Madrid’s dressing room.
2 p.m. ET: Now is the time to make history.
Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid will contest the 2016 UEFA Champions League Final on Saturday in Milan. The winner of the all-Madrid final will reign as king of Europe — the soccer world’s center of power, prestige and finance.
Can upstarts Atletico Madrid upset the odds, win its first-ever continental crown and deny crosstown rival Real Madrid its record 11th European Cup? Or will Real Madrid claim its second Champions League title in three years, with both coming at Atletico Madrid’s expense?
We’ll soon find out.
The 2016 Champions League Final kicks off at 2:45 p.m. ET. Join us right here for all the action from Milan’s San Siro.
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