It is decided. The finals of the tournament to win club football’s “holy grail” will feature reigning champions Real Madrid and 2015 runner-up, Juventus. Predicting the finalists may have been easy, once the semifinal draw was announced, but what was not easy to foresee was the manner in which these two teams reached the final.
When compared to heavyweights Bayern Munich and Barcelona, who incidentally lost to the eventual finalists, Atletico Madrid and Monaco did not seem like much competition for Real and Juve. That proved to be the case in the first legs of both semifinals, even though a strong fightback in the return fixtures was diffused.
This was the seventh consecutive Champions League semifinal stage to feature at least two Spanish teams.
Here is a quick roundup of the semifinals:
Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid (4-2 agg)
The two bitter rivals took on each other in a repeat of last year’s final. And though Atleti tends to upset their richer neighbours more often in the league games, Real have had the upper hand in the European competition. As was the case yet again, Real crushed their neighbours 3-0 at the Santiago Bernebeu, thanks to a classy hat-trick by the reigning player of the world awardee, Cristiano Ronaldo.
Atleti coach Diego Simeone’s criticism that his team showed a lack of determination must have surely spurred the team on in the second leg, when they scored two goals in the opening fifteen minutes to put pressure on the champions. And though Atleti fought hard to keep the momentum, Isco scored for the away team to seal the fixture.
Real controlled the situation well to get through to the final with a 4-2 aggregate.
Juventus vs Monaco (4-1 agg)
The Italian champion’s famed defence was once again on display as they shut out a pacy Monaco side in the first leg of the semifinal. Record-signing Gonzalo Higuain scored a brace, making use of some spectacular service from the right wing from former Barcelona defender Dani Alves. It took a few world-class saves from the 38-year-old Gianluigi Buffon to maintain the clean sheet and Juve went into the second leg with a 2-0 away advantage.
Playing at their home stadium in the reverse fixture, Juve dominated the game once again. The 34-year-old Dani Alves turned in another masterful performance to assist Mario Mandzukic and score a goal for himself, by which time, it was game over for Monaco. Teenager Kylian Mbappe managed to pull one back, but it was too little too late for the French side.
The showdown
The final will be held in Cardiff on June 3. Juventus will be counting on its ageing defence (which like wine seems to get better with time) and the Argentine duo of Paulo Dybala and Higuain to prevent the mighty Real Madrid from clinching a record 12th CL title. Meanwhile, Zinedine Zidane will hope that his star-studded side will make history by being the first team in the Champions League era to retain the trophy. If there is one man he has to thank, it would be the ageless goal-machine Cristiano Ronaldo, for carrying his side through the last two stages of the competition.
Europe, once again, awaits its champion.
