Melbourne bound Atletico Madrid have gone down to Spanish rivals Real Madrid in the UEFA Champions League final for the second time in three years after losing a dramatic penalty shoot-out in Milan.
After 120 minutes of action ended in a 1-1 draw, Atletico’s Juanfran was the unfortunate man to miss, allowing Cristiano Ronaldo to slot home the decisive spot-kick as Real won 5-3 at the San Siro.
Real were much the better team in the first half and took the lead through Sergio Ramos, who got a faint touch on Gareth Bale’s header from close range to haunt Atletico again after his vital goal in his side’s 2014 victory.
Atleti came out fighting after the break, but Antoine Griezmann crashed a penalty against the crossbar as they looked set to fall to another painful defeat against their city rivals in club football’s biggest fixture.
But substitute Yannick Carrasco’s strike from inside the six-yard box with 11 minutes remaining sent the game to extra-time, where neither side found a winner to prompt spot-kicks.
However, Atletico hearts were broken again with Ronaldo’s topless celebrations and tears from Atletico fans bringing back memories from their defeat in Lisbon.
Real’s victory means they are now 11-time European champions with Zinedine Zidane becoming the seventh man to win the tournament as both player and coach after only five months at the helm.
Atletico, meanwhile, suffered their third heartbreaking defeat in a European Cup final, with Diego Simeone missing out on the opportunity to win every major honour available since taking charge of the club.
Atletico Madrid will travel to Melbourne in July where they’ll take on Tottenham Hotspur at the MCG as part of the 2016 International Champions Cup.
Last season’s Hyundai A-League champions Melbourne Victory and reigning Serie A champions Juventus are the other two teams involved in the Australian leg of the round-robin tournament.
The pair will kick off the week of football festivities on Saturday 23 July. Click here to purchase tickets .
