2016 UEFA Champions League final

Did You Know?

• The 2016 UEFA Women's Champions League final was held two days prior, on 26 May 2016, at the Mapei Stadium – Città del Tricolore in Reggio Emilia, Italy.
• The annual UEFA Champions Festival was held between 26–29 May 2016 at Milan's Piazza del Duomo.
• The Stadio San Siro was built in 1925, opened in 1926 as the home of Milan, and was sold to the city in 1935.

Background

This marked the sixth time both finalists came from the same country, the third all-Spanish final, and the second to feature two clubs from the same city, reprising the 2014 matchup. Because both teams were from Madrid, the city secured its place as the most successful in European Cup history, with 11 titles and 17 final appearances, and also led all UEFA club competitions with 16 wins, surpassing Milan’s 10 European Cup titles and 15 overall UEFA trophies.

Real Madrid appeared in a record 14th final after a 1–0 aggregate victory over Manchester City, chasing an 11th title. Their prior final wins came in 1956, 1957, 1958, 1959, 1960, 1966, 1998, 2000, 2002, and 2014, with losses in 1962, 1964, and 1981. This was also their 18th final across all UEFA competitions. Manager Zinedine Zidane, who scored the winner for Real Madrid in the 2002 final, sought to become the seventh person to win the Champions League as both a player and a manager, following Miguel Muñoz, Giovanni Trapattoni, Johan Cruyff, Carlo Ancelotti, Frank Rijkaard, and Pep Guardiola.

The club endured a poor first half of the season, falling out of La Liga contention and dismissing newly hired Rafael Benítez in January.

Pre-match

The 2016 UEFA Champions League final had two ambassadors: Javier Zanetti, an Argentine who won the tournament with Inter Milan in 2010, and Paolo Maldini, an Italian who won five European Cups with AC Milan. The final’s logo, revealed on 27 August 2015 in Monaco, features Milan’s Galleria Vittorio Emanuele II. Of the 71,500-capacity stadium, 46,000 tickets went to fans and the public, with each finalist receiving 20,000. Alicia Keys performed live at the opening ceremony, the first such performance in a Champions League final, and Andrea Bocelli sang the anthem.

Match

English referee Mark Clattenburg took charge of the 2016 UEFA Champions League final, with fellow English officials Simon Beck and Jake Collin running the lines. Hawk-Eye goal-line technology was used for the first time in a Champions League final. Real Madrid controlled the early play. In the sixth minute, Gareth Bale’s free-kick found Casemiro, but Atlético goalkeeper Jan Oblak cleared his shot off the line.

Dani Carvajal picked up the first yellow card for a late tackle on Antoine Griezmann. In the 15th minute, Toni Kroos sent in a free-kick that Bale flicked on, and Sergio Ramos nudged the ball past Oblak to score. At halftime, Clattenburg realized Ramos had been offside in the buildup and the goal should have been disallowed. Early in the second half, Fernando Torres won a penalty after a foul by Pepe.

Real goalkeeper Keylor Navas was booked for delaying the kick, and Griezmann hit the crossbar with his spot kick. In the 79th minute, substitute Yannick Carrasco equalized from close range after a cross from Juanfran. The match went to extra time, which ended scoreless, then to penalties. Juanfran hit the post with Atlético’s fourth penalty, allowing Cristiano Ronaldo to score the winner and secure Real Madrid’s 11th European title.

Post-match

Sergio Ramos opened the scoring, joining an exclusive group as only the fifth player to find the net in two separate Champions League finals. His last goal in the competition had been the equalizer against Atlético Madrid in the 2014 final. Yannick Carrasco leveled the match in the second half, becoming the first Belgian ever to score in a Champions League final. Real Madrid’s coach, Zinedine Zidane, made history as the first French manager to win the tournament and the seventh person to claim it both as a player and a coach.

During the game, an Iraqi Real Madrid fan club was attacked for the second time, raising the total death toll to at least 29. Club president Florentino Pérez dedicated the victory to those fans and other Iraqi supporters killed by the Islamic State. Zidane expressed pride in winning with Real Madrid as a player, assistant coach, and head coach. Atlético’s Diego Simeone congratulated Madrid and said his plan was simply to think about his future.

Cristiano Ronaldo revealed he asked to take the decisive fifth penalty because he had a vision he would score the winner.