Real cup of joy

MILAN, May 29

Real Madrid handed Atletico Madrid another cruel Champions League final defeat when Cristiano Ronaldo’s spot kick saw them beat their neighbours on penalties to win Europe’s top club trophy for a record 11th time on Saturday.

The match ended 1-1 after extra time as Atletico, giving their usual never-say-die performance, conceded an early goal, missed a penalty, clung on by the skin of their teeth and then found the strength to equalise at the San Siro.

But it was all in vain as Juanfran struck their fourth penalty against the post, allowing a previously subdued Ronaldo to stride up and coolly blast home the decisive penalty for a 5-3 shootout win — his third European Cup success.

Real’s former playmaker Zinedine Zidane was left to celebrate winning Europe’s elite club competition five months after starting his first coaching job and become the seventh man to claim the trophy as both a player and a manager.

But it was another demoralising end for Diego Simeone’s Atletico who were within a minute of winning the 1974 European Cup and 2014 Champions League finals but conceded equalisers and eventually lost them both.

The latter was also against Real when Sergio Ramos scored in stoppage time to set his side up for a 4-1 extra-time win. This time, Ramos gave Real a 15th minute lead but, after Antoine Griezmann missed a penalty for Atletico at the start of the second half, the Mattress Makers hit back with a superbly-taken equaliser by substitute Yannick Carrasco.

‘Just reward’

Real captain Ramos, who converted their fourth penalty, said the title was “just reward” for their hard work. “We knew that it was a unique chance to make history and after an up and down season it is a reward,” he said.

Real were pipped to the La Liga title by one point on the final day of the season by arch rivals Barcelona.

Ronaldo added: “The penalties are always a lottery, you never know what will happen, but our team showed more experience and we showed it by scoring all the penalties. A fantastic night for us.” 

Atletico’s shattered coach Simeone added: “It hurts to see the people who paid for the tickets and I couldn’t give them what they wanted.” — Reuters