Gareth Bale has stated that he believes no one on Atletico Madrid’s roster could make the starting XI of Real Madrid ahead of Real and Atletico’s clash in the Champions League final on Saturday.
BALE en @partidodelas12: “Para mí ningún jugador del Atlético sería titular en el R. Madrid” https://t.co/Ran83V2bYQ pic.twitter.com/qDn8ghFVnR
— elpartidodelas12 (@partidodelas12) May 24, 2016
His statement, coming from the tweet above, translates to, “To me, no Atlético player would feature in Real Madrid's Starting XI,” and it echoes a sentiment that was originally pervaded by Real Madrid midfielder Toni Kroos.
Almost three weeks ago Kroos said that he believes Real Madrid has more quality than their Atletico rivals: "We know that the final against Atletico will be tough. They performed well against Barcelona and Bayern, but we've got more quality and we've got to go out and show that we're the better side.”
Whether or not you agree with either Kroos or Bale’s statements, they are sure to motivate an Atletico Madrid side that has thrived this year against teams that were supposedly “better” than them.
Atletico Madrid knocked out Barcelona and Bayern Munich on their way to the Champions League final, and, just like Real Madrid, both of those teams were thought to be more talented than Atletico.
Atletico progressed past those two powerhouses because of its staunch defense and immaculate game plan, and there is no reason to believe Atletico won’t lean on those two pillars again when it faces off against Madrid.
Real Madrid may have the more talented squad on paper, but can that squad handle the team effort that is about to be thrown at it by Atletico Madrid? This is the question that awaits us on Saturday, and we can’t wait to see what the answer is.
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