The reasons that Atletico will beat Real Madrid

The biggest match of the domestic season takes place on Saturday night as Real Madrid take on Atletico Madrid in the Champions League Final. Here are the reasons that Atletico will beat Real Madrid

Best Champions League odds at Bet365

• Real Madrid @ 8/5
• Draw @ 21/10
• Atletico Madrid 11/5

On Saturday night, not for the first time, two city rivals will meet at Milan’s San Siro. It won’t be AC and Inter Milan, however. If you bet on sports in Italy, you can only guess the next time that they’ll both reach the late stages of the Champions league. It will be the Champions League Final, between Atletico and Real Madrid, a rematch of the 2014 final.

Real Madrid won the trophy two years ago, despite Atletico leading up until the 93rd minute. Real’s three goals give the scoreline an unfair impression of dominance. However, this time Atletico can win. Here are the reasons that Atletico will beat Real Madrid.

Diego Simeone

Just like in the semi final, when we predicted Atletico would beat Bayern in the semi-final, Simeone has the chance to once again prove he’s the greatest manager on earth. Though they missed out on La Liga this year, he has masterminded their journey to the final. He may not have had Zidane’s prestige as a player, but he should be able to out-think him on the big occasion.

Experience

First Goalscorer odds @ BetVictor

• Ronaldo @ 4/1
• Griezmann @ 11/2
• Bale @ 13/2

Simeone will have spent that last two years thinking about what might have been. He will remember the chances they had in the final, and will know exactly what to do this time around. While Real Madrid’s team will feature more faces who played in the final, they no longer have Ancelotti at the helm, and the team works entirely differently.

Atletico have new faces, and new heroes, but a core remain and they play with similar tactical ideas they did before. While Real Madrid have gone through two managers this season, scraping through earlier Champions League rounds, Atletico have been honing their gameplan for the big occasion.

Teamwork

Of all reasons Atletico will be Real Madrid, the Atletico’s great teamwork is the foremost. They attack and defend as a team, with a level of organisation that Real can only dream of. They might press high from the start, or they could hold back. If so, they will invite Real to attack them, only to pounce on the counter-attack. Simeone brings not just tactical knowledge but passion and drive. While the Real Madrid team is a collection of talented individuals, Atleti work for each other. They have starts, but they also have less heralded workers.

Griezmann and Torres

Anytime Goalscorer odds @ 32Red Sportsbook

• Torres @ 14/5
• Saul Niguez @ 27/5
• Ramos @ 9/1

Frenchman Antoine Griezmann scored 24 league goals this season, and is great at scoring when it matters most. His intelligence, pace, and finishing ability make him the perfect Atletico striker, and he is a great bet to score first. He will Sergio Ramos, who will probably be concentrating more on scoring the winning goal than defending; Griezmann can pounce on a loss of concentration.

Fernando Torres, meanwhile, looks close to his best form. He was down and out for several years, but now he is back scoring again. In April he scored in 5 games in a row, the best run of his career. He scored and won man of the match in the Euro 2008 final. He didn’t make Spain’s squad for France 2016, so he’ll be keen to make his mark on the big stage tonight. Go to an online sportsbook and bet on Torres to score.

Okay, a couple of reasons Madrid could win:
Ronaldo, Bale, Modric, Benzema, Ramos, Zidane

So, there are a few reasons that online sportsbooks in the EU aren’t persuaded by our reasons that Atletico will beat Real Madrid. The biggest one is Cristiano Ronaldo, one of the greatest players ever and top goalscorer by miles in this season’s Champions League. He will be desperate to win his third Champions League, and provide a defining moment for his career.

Bale, Modric, and Benzema all also have the individual talent to make things happen. Modric can make an incisive pass, Benzema can grab a chance out of nothing, or Bale can smash home from miles away. Any of them could decide the final. Sergio Ramos decided the 2014 final, scoring in the injury time to prevent Atleti from winning. His force of personality gave Real the character required to win.

Lastly, Zidane. He may not be the most experienced manager, but as a player he scored one of the Champions League’s most defining goals. His sumptuous volley against Bayern Leverkusen at Hampden Park in 2002 lives long in the memory. He was an inspirational player, and he might the perfect motivational tool for Real Madrid.