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In an epic showdown of the invincible instincts of the Spanish Champions, Cristiano Ronaldo and company lead Real Madrid to victory yet again consolidating themselves as the greatest team in Europe after a thumping 4-1 win over Juventus in the UEFA Champion’s League final.

The Principality Stadium in Cardiff, bore witness to what was yet another night of sheer Madrid dominance. The match saw Los Blancos no more relying on their Galacticos rubric and the team in its entirety demolished the fabled I Bianconeri defence after the likes of Barzagli, Bonucci, Chiellini and Dani Alves were reduced to mere dummies against the Modric-Casemiro-Kroos midfield magic.

The first goal of the night came after only 20 minutes of the whistle. Cristiano Ronaldo created a glorious chance for himself, in a quick one-two into the box with Carvajal, as he curled the ball past Buffon from just inside the area. The euphoria was only briefly hindered when Mario Mandzukic, the former Atletico man, scored a stunning scissor equaliser in the 27th minute. The goal spree continued as the second half saw detrimental goals coming from the thundering 27-yard from Casemiro and the tap-in from Ronaldo, with Asensio scoring the ultimate goal in the 90th minute.

Ronaldo jubilant after the final whistle.

All in all, Madrid did what Madrid does. They demolished the opposition inspite of the statistics and all the emotional strings attached with the retiring Gigi Buffon.

It is almost boring to see a team win repeatedly, but that is also the hardest thing to do. This is something enabled by the perfect game plan of the super-manager Zinedine Zidane and the perennial record-smashes of Cristiano Ronaldo. Their team has made everything achievable. They enjoy unprecedented success by facing different challenges to nearly any other team but overcoming them nonetheless.

This is the beginning of an era. The way Cristiano passes as selflessly as he scores, the way Casemiro demolishes the defence, the way Modric dances with the ball and the way Isco makes the ball move to his symphony. Madrid seems to have no stopping for some years to come. At the Super Cup this August, Manchester United might end up learning this the hard way.

Image Credits- Real Madrid Facebook Page.

Nikhil Kumar
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The announcement of the UEFA Champions League draws of the Quarter-finals, which took place on Friday, 21^st March, has brought to light a whole lot of discussion among footballing circles throughout the world. Arguably, the strongest remaining 8 teams in quite a few years, this season seems to be all but over with the Champions League matches getting more and more compelling as the knockout stages progress forward. And with the clashes of the Quarter-final fixtures finally revealed, the stage for another historic final seems to be no longer a distant dream.

The first quarter final clash involves Barcelona against their La Liga compatriots, Athletico Madrid. While Athletico Madrid may not be the favourites for this clash, their fantastic run of form in their domestic as well as European matches demonstrate that they will definitely not go down without a fight. Moreover, the 2nd leg of the competition is also at Vicente Calderon, thereby pushing the luck a little bit in Athletico’s favour. However, in order to beat this vicious Barcelona side, Athletico Madrid will definitely need to muster all the luck and support they can gather.

Another interesting fixture is the tie between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Chelsea, which not only offers a clash between contrasting styles of play, but also pits PSG’s lethal strike partnership directly against Chelsea’s rock solid defence. The English side look to be the more likely winners of the battle, but with Zlatan Ibrahimovic on PSG’s side, one can never be too sure!

Then there is Manchester United, who would consider themselves rather unfortunate as to be pitted against the favourites of the tournament, Bayern Munich. The German giants, whose hot run of form does not seem to be slowing down anytime soon, look to be spearheading their way into another Champions League final for a fourth consecutive year. However, despite Man United’s poor domestic run, their performances in Europe have been inspiring to say the least. While a German victory seems to be the more probable score-line, a repetition of the 1999 Champions League final will continue to haunt the Germans in the back of their mind.

Last but not least, Real Madrid against Borussia Dortmund also promises to be a thrilling re-run oflast year’s semi-final encounter between the two sides. Both sides will have a lot to prove as they go head to head again, which will definitely be a joy to watch from a neutral perspective. While Borussia did manage to beat Jose Mourinho’s Los Blancos last year, Real Madrid’s front line (Bale, Benzema and C. Ronaldo) have never quite looked as threatening as they have now become.

The matches for the 1^st leg are scheduled for the 1^st/2^nd of April, while the 2^nd leg fixtures will take place on 8^th and 9^th April respectively. The long wait for Champions League to narrow down to top teams has eventually started to bear fruit and the question on who will be crowned as the most dominant side in Europe is finally starting to unravel.

Image Courtesy – thesportsquotient.com

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