Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid : Five things to watch for
By Vijay Vemu
5. Filipe Luis & Juanfran vs. Ronaldo & Bale
After an awful spell at Chelsea, Filipe Luis has seemed to find his footing back with Atletico Madrid. The left-back has given Diego Simeone an every game starter and his defense is one of the best in Europe.
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He will be opposite of Juanfran, who also possess the same qualities as his fullback counterpart. Both don’t overlap on runs very much, defend and stay back a ton, but when they do go forward they are very dangerous with crosses into the box.
Both will be tested in this match however as they take on the duo of Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo. Both are exceptional wingers as you know and will look to take advantage of any mistakes by the Atletico fullbacks. It was Bale who scored the game winning goal back in the final back in 2014. It was because Angel Di Maria went right around a dead tired Juanfran to get the initial shot off at Thibaut Courtois. Bale got his head on the rebound and the rest was history.
With Atletico expecting to sit back behind the ball for much of the match, Luis nor Juanfran will be expected to push forward in attack. But if they choose to push up, they have to be wary of letting two of the fastest forwards in the world run right past them. Jon Oblak is a good goalkeeper but if it’s 1 on 1 against either Ronaldo or Bale, the ball is going into the back of the net.
Next: 4. Saul vs. Toni Kroos