Diego Forlan’s second goal in extra time stopped Fulham from winning a major trophy for the first time in their history. To the heartbreak of millions of Fulham fans, Atletico Madrid defeated them 2-1 to lift the Europa League title. Spurred a superb performance by Deigo Forlan, who scored both the goals, Madrid executed a clinical display of football and held on to their nerves to score the winner in extra time.
It was a much needed victory for Atletico Madrid, as even they had not won any major tournament in last 14 years and it could not have come at a better place. The Europa league is one of the most respected tournaments in Europe.
The final took place Hamburg, Germany and Atletico started off very well and were very impressive throughout the game. Fulham also played good football, but that extra time goal sealed their fate. Had they managed to hold on for another 4 minutes, the match would have been decided by penalty shootout and Fulham had a great chance of setting their record.
Fulham fans would be extremely unhappy as this was their best chance of bringing home a major trophy. However, they should take heart from the fact that they made it to the finals and lost to a team which played better football on the day.
On the other hand, Madrid fans have all the more reason to cheer as they have always been overshadowed by Real Madrid. The coach would be very pleased with the team’s performance as they stuck to their game plan and kept the pressure on Fulham.
