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The Champions League final will see a Madrid derby for the first time ever after Atletico Madrid confirmed their place with a 3-1 victory against Chelsea over the two legs of the semi-final. City rivals Real Madrid had already brushed Bayern Munich aside on the previous night by humbling them with a 4-0 scoreline (5-0 agg). While many dreamt of conquering Europe, the capitol of Spain converted that dream into reality.
Real Madrid’s long obsession for the coveted La Decima drove them to a final after waiting for a decade. Atletico’s first final in the Champions League era will certainly make them believe that they can lift the trophy and complete what has been a fairytale season for them. While both teams try to chalk out their plans and fancy their chances, we analyse and discuss their journey to the biggest game of their season and how individuals have stood out and contributed to their success in reaching the Champions League final, which awaits the world on 24th May,2014.
Fixtures and Results
Real Madrid were placed in a group that consisted of domestic champions of their respective leagues. Teams like Juventus and Galatasaray were thebig hurdles that the Los Blancos had to cross in order to qualify for the knockout stages. Meanwhile, Atletico had a relatively easier group to qualify from compared to their cross town adversaries but still had some significant competitors in the form of FC Porto and Zenit.
The table below gives a detailed picture of their performances in the Champions League matches.
Well, there was no upset in the story as both the teams eased past the group stages and made it into the round of 16. Real’s highway to Lisbon was blocked by German presence as they faced three Bundesliga teams in order of their league ranks. FC Schalke and Bayern were comfortably beaten while Dortmund gave them a scare in the 2nd leg where Real lost on the night but held on to the aggregate scoreline to qualify. Atletico thumped a once European heavyweight AC Milan, edged past league rivals Barcelona before beating Chelsea at Stamford Bridge and booked their final berth without losing a single game in the competition.
Key Players : Goals & assists
The teams have had all their guns firing for the season which has been a major difference separating them from the rest of the lot. While Diego Costa has been a revelation for Simeone’s team, Cristiano Ronaldo continued his impressive scoring run and tallied up a record breaking 16 goals from 10 games - a feat he will be looking to increase in the final. The ‘BBC’ attacking trio prospered with Bale and Benzema scoring some importanat goals for the men in white while the red & white stripes have put in a complete team effort where Costa have led the line in terms of goals scored supported by Arda Turan who has also contributed significantly.
In the assists department, Di Maria and Benzema lead the line with 5 followed by Bale and Raul Garcia who are joint second with 4 assists.
Gareth Bale and Arda Turan have been instrumental this season
Team Statistics
A total of 12 games have been played by each teams where Atletico enter the final without suffering a single loss. They have won 9 of their games while drawing 3. Real on the other hand have won 10 games with one draw and a single defeat at Dortmund.
The manner in which Real have won some of their games have been quite scintillating as Ronaldo and co have scored 37 goals in their 12 games while conceding 9 in the process. The Rojiblancos have also been impressive going forward as they have tallied 25 goals while giving way 6 in their total games.
With a pass percentage of 86.9, Real have been effective with the ball at their disposal, utilising their strengths in the middle of the pitch. While Atletico have an inferior 78.1 % of pass success rate, they have used the ball effectively while shifting from defense to attack and have made the most of their efforts.
Stats from WhoScored
