Sports Blog 27/05/2016: UEFA Champions League Final Preview – Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid, Saturday 27th May 2016

Madrid decamps to Milan this Saturday, as Real and Atletico face off in the Champions League final at 7.45pm on BT Sport Europe.

Despite the intensity of those final few weeks of La Liga the Champions League has arguably been Atletico’s toughest test this season. After topping one of the easier groups in the draw (it contained Benfica, Galatasaray and Astana) Atletico faced Dutch champions PSV Eindhoven in the last 16. Two snore draws sent the tie to penalties, the Spanish side eventually winning 8-7 after some choice spot kicks.

Things really ramped up from this point onwards; the quarters saw a worst-case scenario, losing to Barcelona 2-1 in the 1st leg. Yet that goal at the Nou Camp proved to be vital, with a brace from top scorer Antoine Griezmann (who heads into the final at a Super Mega PGM of 27-32) sending Atletico into the semis. Their punishing draw didn’t end there, however, with Simone and co. taking on the Pep Guardiola-led Bayern Munich; yet once again David beat the relative Goliath, winning on away goals to reach their 2nd final in 3 years.



So far Real Madrid have had a similarly frustrating season to their city rivals. Finishing 1 point behind Barcelona in La Liga, and ejected from the Copa del Rey for fielding an illegible player, Zinedine Zidane’s first 5 months in charge has been a mixed bag, though it did end with a 12 game domestic winning streak.

In Europe, however, Real have been at their best. Topping a group containing PSG, Shakhtar Donetsk and Malmo, the Spanish giants went on to beat Roma, Wolfsburg and Manchester City on their way to a record 14th final. On their way Cristiano Ronaldo scored 16 goals, 1 behind the bar he set back in 2013/14. At a Super Mega PGM of 34-40 Ronaldo will be looking to break that record on Saturday, though he will be coming up against the best defence in Europe, Diego Simone’s side conceding a mere 18 goals in La Liga and 6 in the Champions League.

Having been a minute or two away from victory Atletico had their hearts broken back in 2014, when Sergio Ramos’ 93rd minute equaliser led to a 4-1 Real romp in extra-time. Yet Atletico have not lost against Real in their past 7 encounters, and though Spreadex are offering a narrow Real Madrid/Atletico Madrid Goal Supremacy spread of 0.05-0.25 with a Total Goals spread of 2.2-2.4, they stand a fantastic chance of finally winning their first even Champions League trophy this weekend.

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