Football
Dermot Corrigan, Madrid correspondent 8y

Real Madrid's Sergio Ramos: Fine margins in Champions League final

Real Madrid captain Sergio Ramos says the team that makes the least mistakes are likely to lift the Champions League trophy on Saturday.

The last four competitive games between Real and Atletico have produced only four goals -- two for each side -- with Los Blancos progressing 1-0 on aggregate when they met in last year's Champions League quarterfinals, with the goal coming after Diego Simeone's side had Arda Turan sent off late in the second leg.

The teams also met in the Champions League final two years ago in Lisbon, when an error from then-Madrid goalkeeper Iker Casillas helped Atletico to go 1-0 ahead, although Ramos then equalised in the 93rd minute and his team ran out 4-1 winners in extra time.

Speaking to UEFA.com, the Spain international said he and his teammates would need to be sharp and defend well for the entirety of the game.

"We'll have to be totally focused as finals are mostly decided on small details: the team that makes the fewest mistakes comes out on top," Ramos said. "We have to show the humility, hard work and effort that has got us this far. We need to be able to dig in, play more like a team than ever and defend well. If we do that, it will be a big step in the right direction."

Madrid have defended well throughout the competition this year, keeping 10 clean sheets in their 12 games so far, although Ramos said there had been some difficult moments along the way.

"We deserve to be in the final," he said. "It's been a bit of a bumpy ride, though. After getting through the group stage -- when we were up against big teams like Paris Saint-Germain -- we had a poor game in the quarterfinal first leg away to Wolfsburg, but were thrilled to pull off a great comeback at home. After that we managed to knock out a top side in Manchester City in the semis. We are happy that our hard work, despite the ups and downs, has got its reward."

Atletico have had a tougher run to the final, taking on Barcelona and Bayern Munich, and Ramos said the Calderon outfit deserved to have made it this far.

"We know Atletico very well," he said. "They also deserve their place in the final. They've knocked out some top teams and we know they're in very good form. They have a great team and, above all, they know how to compete. We expect a hard match, with real intensity."

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