Football
Dermot Corrigan, Madrid correspondent 8y

Gareth Bale: Real Madrid know they can beat Atletico in UCL final

Real Madrid galactico Gareth Bale says the memory of his side's dramatic victory over Atletico Madrid in the 2014 Champions League final will be helpful during their rematch in the 2016 decider in Milan on Saturday evening.

Two years ago, Atletico were 1-0 up and seconds away from winning their first ever Champions League trophy in Lisbon, only for Madrid defender Sergio Ramos to head in a 93rd-minute equaliser.

Bale was then on the scoresheet in extra-time, along with teammates Marcelo and Cristiano Ronaldo, as Los Blancos steamrolled an exhausted Atletico on the way to their "Decima" European Cup success.

Speaking to ESPNFC.com at Madrid's "media open day," the Wales international said that the knowledge of what happened that night could well play apart as they meet again.

"I would rather not be 1-0 down with one minute to go, but it definitely plays a part," Bale said. "The first thing you think about is your last final and to know you can beat the opponent. We know this will be a completely different game, but we are confident we can win it."

Zinedine Zidane was an assistant coach behind Carlo Ancelotti in 2014, but the Frenchman is now in charge for Saturday's game at San Siro, and Bale said he was enjoying the freedom the Frenchman has given him on the pitch.

"I've a very good relationship [with Zidane]," he said. "We speak all the time about what we can improve. He gives us freedom and confidence on the pitch and that has showed in the second half of the season. I think that is why our performances have improved. We're hitting our peak and playing very well at the moment. Hopefully we can take the form we've been producing into the final and win the trophy."

Zidane has also got his big name players to work hard for the team, Bale acknowledged.

"In the Champions League I don't think we've conceded a goal at home all season and we've been improving [defensively] all the time," he said. "We work together to defend and we attack together. We're all improving, I feel like I'm improving all the time myself and looking forward to the final now."

Being tight defensively does not mean being dull, said Bale, who rejected ex-Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini's comment after the semifinals that Madrid did not play much football.

"For us it wasn't a poor, dull game," Bale said. "We controlled the game very well. We maybe made Man City look dull and boring, we nullified their threats. For us it was a great game plan, obviously we have another one now for the final and hopefully we can execute that as well."

Bale also did not agree with a theory floated by Atletico Madrid coach Diego Simeone this week that Zidane's Madrid are basically just a counter-attacking team now.

"It depends how the game goes," Bale said. "We've a few game plans we're very good at. We can keep the ball, counter-attack, defend when we have to. I didn't hear those comments, but we're just concentrating on ourselves. Always the games against Atletico Madrid are very physical.

They're very defensive and make it very difficult for us to break them down. [But] come the game all plans go out the window. We'll adapt to how the game goes."

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