Real Madrid 4
Ramos 90; Bale 110; Marcelo 118; Ronaldo 120 pen;
Atletico Madrid 1
Godin 36;

The wait is over.

Real Madrid's quest to capture La Decima, a record 10th European Cup, was accomplished in extraordinary fashion in Lisbon last night.

With less than a minute of this first ever Champions League final between two clubs from the same city, Real Madrid's 12-year drought looked set to be extended as they trailed their brave rivals Atletico who had taken a first-half lead through Diego Godin.

Despite their abundance of attacking riches and the two most expensive players Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale flying down the wings, Real had not been at their flowing best as the well-oiled Atletico, energised by their amazing triumph in La Liga, stifled their opponents with their non-stop pressing.

Real did step up their game in the second half, tearing forward with panache as Carlo Ancelotti's substitutions, especially the introduction of wing-back Marcelo, changed the game, forcing Atletico to drop deeper and deeper.

Yet, everything seemed lost for Real only for Sergio Ramos, their inspirational leader at the back, to conjure up an equaliser at the death.

Ramos's header forced extra-time but it effectively ended the contest as confidence drained from the exhausted Atletico warriors who did not deserve to lose by a three-goal margin as the rampant Whites ran riot in the additional 30 minutes.

While it was hard not to sympathise with the Atletico players, Real were worthy winners.

Theirs was a triumph of attacking football but poor finishing almost threatened to undo their efforts with Bale the main culprit before making amends in extra-time.

Ancelotti was a reassuring figure on the touchline, never losing his composure.

The amiable Italian, now a five-time Champions League winner as player and coach, was hoisted into the air by his elated players after UEFA president Michel Platini had presented the coveted trophy to Iker Casillas.

The onus of anchoring Real's three-man midfield in the absence of Xabi Alonso fell on Sami Khedira who was flanked by two creative elements in Luka Modric and Angel Di Maria.

As soon as the teamsheets landed in the media zone around an hour before kick-off, the journalists immediately perused the Atletico Madrid line-up. The uncertainty over the fitness of Diego Costa and Arda Turan had dominated the build-up.

Costa, the Brazilian-born striker who plays for Spain, was initially given the green light to start but Turkish midfielder Turan was only conspicuous by his absence.

However, Simeone's gamble on Costa backfired as, nine minutes into the game, he withdrew the striker who was replaced by Adrian Lopez.

Wary of the significant threat posed by Ronaldo and Bale, Juanfran and Filipe Luis rarely ventured forward in the opening 20 minutes.

When Luis managed to advance beyond the halfway line and deliver a cross towards the edge of the box, Real were stretched as Garcia outmuscled Fabio Coentrao, the right-back, but the loose ball found no takers.

There was another scare for Real when Ramos's miscued clearance, from Adrian's cross, sent the ball skimming over the crossbar.

Dutch referee Bjorn Kuipers was obliged to deal with the first contentious episode as Garcia clattered into Di Maria who was racing towards goal after bursting past a host of defenders. Garcia was followed by Ramos into the referee's book after the Spain defender confronted the Atletico midfielder.

Suddenly, the game opened up. Juanfran's cross was only cleared as far as Lopez whose scrambled first-timer ricocheted off Koke before the confused Real defenders hooked the ball away.

Bale then served up a reminder of the qualities that prompted Real to break the transfer record to sign him last summer.

The Welsh winger, intercepting a wayward Tiago pass, raced through the Atletico defence, throwing the centre-halves off balance with a feint only to drive wide with only Courtois to beat.

What a costly miss this proved. In their next attack, Atletico drew first blood.

The scoreboard marked 36 minutes when Gabi's corner was partially repelled by Real, Juanfran's floating header directed the ball back into the box where defender Diego Godin rose above Khedira to send a looping header past the back-pedalling Iker Casillas who only managed to palm the ball after it had crossed the line.

With Real looking stunned, Atletico threatened again but Adrian headed over from Gabi's corner.

The second half began in much the same vein as the first had ended, with Atletico's industry, pressing and clever passing giving them an edge over the timid Real.

Six minutes into the second half, the indomitable Koke won possession near the byline and crossed for Garcia who volleyed wide.

With Ronaldo and Bale struggling to make their mark, it was left to Di Maria to breathe life into Real. The Argentine embarked on another dazzling run from midfield but was brought down by Miranda who earned a booking.

Ronaldo's free-kick was pushed over the bar by Courtois. From the corner, the ball broke to Ronaldo whose low effort was deflected away for a corner.

Ronaldo was again first to the cross but his header was wide.

Atletico refused to lie down. They nearly doubled their lead but Adrian's angled drive took a deflection after Real had again struggled to deal with a corner.

Ancelotti had seen enough. He tried to shake things up, throwing on Marcelo and Isco for Coentrao and Khedira respectively.

Real might have gained a much-needed boost when Ramos's cross from the left was met by Ronaldo who headed wide as Benzema just failed to get a touch to the ball.

Isco then hit wide from just outside the box after receiving Benzema's cut-back.

As the second half moved past its mid-point, Real fashioned another chance. Di Maria tore into the box but his attempted pass was blocked.

Real went flat-out in attack. Another chance went astray when Varane headed Di Maria's free-kick towards Ronaldo whose acrobatic volley was high.

When 13 minutes left, Bale made another terrific run into the box but the quality of his finish failed to match his progression as he skewed the ball with his left foot.

Marcelo and Di Maria were adding thrust to Real's attacking surge. Six minutes from time, the two combined, Marcelo releasing Di Maria whose diagonal cross-shot rolled towards the far post but Carvajal's cross was stopped by Courtois.

On another occasion, Ronaldo headed the ball into the box where Marcelo looked odds-on to score but Juanfran dived in to nudge the ball away from the Brazilian.

Atletico held firm. But just when it looked as though they had done enough to see out the match, Real equalised in stoppage time.

Their persistence was rewarded as from another corner, taken by Modric, Ramos catapulted into the air to plant a powerful header past Courtois's despairing dive and send the game into extra-time amid scenes of unrestrained joy from the Merengues fans.

The force was with Real now. Marcelo was dangerous again but his pass from inside the box was belted away by Miranda.

Just before the referee whistled the end of the first half, Varane headed wide from Di Maria's corner as Real, with Ronaldo pushing through the centre after Benzema's substitution, remained the more adventurous side.

Courtois neutralised Modric's deflected drive three minutes into the second half of extra-time while Godin nodded straight at Casillas from Gabi's free-kick.

Real struck on 110 minutes. Di Maria was the architect as his mesmerising run propelled past three defenders before firing a shot that was deflected away by Courtois but Bale was on hand to head home at the far post, the former Spurs man atoning for his earlier misses.

Atletico might have equalised when Casillas flapped at a cross but Tiago's effort flew wide.

With Simeone's troops showing signs of exhaustion, Real administered the killer touch. Marcelo accelerated forward before ramming past Courtois.

There was time for another goal as Ronaldo was adjudged to have been pushed by Juanfran in the box. Ronaldo made short work of the penalty.

The game almost ended on a sour note after Varane's misdemeanour incurred the wrath of the Atletico players and Simeone who stormed on to the pitch to confront the French defender, leading to El Cholo being ordered off the bench.

Kuipers’s final whistle came soon after.

Real Madrid
I. Casillas, R. Varane, S. Ramos, F. Coentrao (59 Marcelo), S. Khedira (59 Isco), C. Ronaldo, K. Benzema (79 A. Morata), G. Bale, D. Carvajal, L. Modric, A. Di Maria.

Atletico Madrid
T. Courtois, D. Godin, F. Luis (83 T. Alderweireld), T. Mendes, Koke, R. Garcia (66 J. Sosa), D. Villa, Gabi, D. Costa (9 A. Lopez), Juanfran, Miranda.

Referee: Bjorn Kuipers (Netherlands FA).

Attendance: 60,976.

Last 10 winners

2005: Liverpool
2006: Barcelona
2007: Milan
2008: Man. United
2009: Barcelona
2010: Inter
2011: Barcelona
2012: Chelsea
2013: Bayern Munich
2014: Real Madrid

All-time winners

10: Real Madrid
7: Milan
5: Bayern Munich, Liverpool
4: Barcelona, Ajax
3: Manchester United, Inter
2: Benfica, Juve, N. Forest, Porto
1: Celtic, Hamburg, S. Bucharest, Marseille, Borussia Dortmund, Chelsea, Feyenoord, Aston Villa, PSV Eindhoven, Red Star.

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