Real Madrid booked their flight to Cardiff beating Atlético Madrid (3-0) in the first leg of the semifinals of the Champions League. Los Blancos played a perfect game against a rival that couldn’t arrive to Navas’ goal. Cristiano Ronaldo, hungrier than ever, scored the three goals of the match.
Zinedine Zidane decided to introduce Isco in the place of Gareth Bale and the Spaniard was one of the best players of the game. He asked for the ball and he made the team played at his best. Varane was the other piece of news in the line-up, because he was Sergio Ramos’ pair. Again, the French coach showed his skills as a manager both in the tactical area and when the game kicked off.
The game couldn’t start better for Los Blancos. They have the ball and the first chance arrived very early but Oblak saved Carvajal and Benzema’s shot. He couldn’t save the second chance in the 10th minute, when Cristiano Ronaldo headed the ball into the net. Real Madrid continued arriving to the goal, but Oblak saved another header from Varane. Atlético only chance arrived in the 16th but Keylor touched the ball when Gameiro was facing the goal.
Zidane’s side kept playing really well. Marcelo and Carvajal arrived easily to the line and Modric could score in the 23rd minute with a shot from outside the box. In the 28th minute, Benzema missed a great chance with an amazing volley after a cross from Cristiano, who was looking for Lucas Hernández. The bad news in the second half arrived in the last minute, when Carvajal got injured and Nacho had to replace him in the half time.
Both teams studied themselves in the start of the second half. Cholo Simeone put in the field Fernando Torres and Nico Gaitán in the 55th minute to change something in the match. The script was the same and Zidane introduced Asensio, whereas Simeone put Correa on the pitch in the 69th minute. Nothing happened in the game until the best one showed up. Cristiano Ronaldo catched the ball and he sent it to the net. It was the second goal and the perfect result for the second leg.
There was time for much more. Zidane put Lucas Vázquez in the pitch and the former Espanyol player lead the counter-attack in the 85th minute, when Cristiano Ronaldo scored his hat-trick. Again, the Portuguese highlighted in a very important game. Three goals against Bayern Munich at Bernabéu and another hat-trick against Atlético. Chapeau.
Now Real Madrid have to play the second leg next week but it will be very difficult that Atlético could recover from this huge punch. Los Blancos were much better and they have a killer. His name is Cristiano Ronaldo and he has already booked his ticket to Cardiff. The final is really close.
