Real Madrid

The Champions League final is set. Real Madrid beat Atletico Madrid 4-2 on aggregate. We all knew Real madrid would win. We pretended that Atletico Madrid had a chance, that they could really do this, but we were fooling ourselves.

Real Madrid is Atleti's big, mean older brother who's smart enough to give the little guy a little hope before ripping his heart out.

This time, Real allowed two early goals to bring the aggregate score to 3-2, and then Karim Benzema danced down the end line past three Atletico Madrid defenders and Isco finished the play, ending Atleti's hopes.

Well, for the neutral fans out there it was fun while it lasted. After a high-octane first 30 minutes that included five yellow cards and two goals from Atleti, Karim Benzema and Real Madrid decided they had enough of delaying their spot in the UCL Final. Benzema did some magical dribbling (what are you doing Godin, Savic and Giménez?) on the endline that ended in a crucial away goal by Isco.

Isco 42'

With a spot in the Champions League final on the line you knew Atletico Madrid would not go silently into the night. A chaotic first five minutes included two big saves by Keylor Navas and Jan Oblak, and a yellow card on Stegan Savic. Being down three goals to none, many questioned if Atletico had the firepower to crack Real Madrid’s defense. But early on the Vicente Calderon stadium has ignited Diego Simeone’s team to an early two goal lead.

Saul 12’

You might think paying €45 million for a 16-year-old without a first-team appearance to his name is excessive. You might be correct. In the case of Vinicius Jr., though, you just might be incorrect.

Real Madrid have reportedly had a €45 million bid accepted by Vinicius's club, Flamengo, although the move cannot be finalized until Vinicius turns 18, in July of next year.

For all of Real Madrid’s dominance in the first leg of their Champions League semifinal with Atletico Madrid, it looked as though Atleti would escape to the Vicente Calderon with only a one-goal deficit. But then Cristiano Ronaldo happened. And then again. 

Ronaldo scored goals number 101, 102 and 103 to extend his all time record in the Champions League, and Atletico’s inability to grab an away goal, or to really trouble Real for that matter, makes the possibility of a comeback next Wednesday seem extremely farfetched. 

Less than 10 minutes into the first leg of the Madrid derby Champions League semifinal, Cristiano Ronaldo did what he always does in this competition: he scored UCL goal number 101. Flying nearly two heads above every Atletico defender, Ronaldo buried a perfect cross from Casemiro.