Despite Atletico taking a first half lead, the forced substitution of star player Diego Costa due to a previous injury ultimately led to great problems later in the match. Many questions surrounded Costa going into the match due to an injury he suffered in the final match of the La Liga season against Barcelona.
Costa was treated by a controversial horse placenta treatment for a torn hamstring before the meeting between the two Madrid sides. However, the striker was forced to be subbed off after only nine minutes.
The use of an early sub was ultimately very detrimental for Atletico. In a match that went into overtime, Atletico only had two substitutes remaining late in the match. This especially became an issue in the second period of extra time when a tired Atletico side conceded three goals.
The choice to start Diego Costa is one of the most questionable choices made by Diego Simeone this season. Simeone led Atletico to winning the La Liga title, and has been complemented for his tactics in the 2013/2014 campaign.
After Costa was subbed off, Atletico still managed to have the first breakthrough in the match with a goal by Diego Godín. But the goal by the Uruguayan international was not the only major event in the first half. The referee, Björn Kuipers, also showed three yellow cards in the first half.
Tensions continued to run even higher in the second half. In total twelve cards were issued in total. One player that earned a yellow card was Sergio Ramos, who has been carded in ten of the last twenty meetings between the two Madrid sides.
Ramos also scored the leveling goal in the third minute of stoppage time to take the match into overtime. This boost gave Real momentum going into extra time in which they scored three goals to win the match.
This win gave Real their tenth European Championship and their third since 2000. The win also gave Real their second major trophy in addition to the Copa del Rey which they won earlier this season.
No comments:
Post a Comment