Atletico reached the final of the Europa League thanks to an exemplary defense game, team ethics and skill of the attacking players. After taking third place in the Champions League group, the "mattresses" missed only four goals in eight playoff matches of the Europa League by signing at the gate of rivals 17 times.

Way Atletico in the current draw Last season, Atletico finished third in the championship of Spain, so he started the current European season with the group stage of the Champions League, where he got to the quartet with Roma, Chelsea and Karabakh.

There, the "mattress" four times played a draw, including twice against the representative of Azerbaijan, and quite unexpectedly took the third place after Roma and Chelsea. Thus, the team of Diego Simeone started trekking for his third trophy of the Europa League with the playoff round.

Playoff In the 16th round, Atletico met with the Danish Copenhagen and for the most part decided the issue with going to the next round in the first match, in which the mattress "on the road defeated the opponent with a score of 4: 1. In the return home meeting, Atletico celebrated again, but this time the minimum thanks to Kevin Gameiro's goal at the beginning of the match.

Confrontation in the 1/8 final against Lokomotiv turned out to be the easiest in the current Europa League draw for "red-white". In Madrid, Atletico came forward thanks to a long shot from Saul in the middle of the first half, after which Diego Costa doubled the advantage of his team at the beginning of the second half of the game. And already in the last minute of the main time Koke brought the score to the devastating after the selection and transfer of Juanfran. In Moscow, "mattress" again opened the account, after which the goal of Maciej Rybus gave Yuri Semin's team a small hope for success. However, in the second half, Atletico simply destroyed the opponent, having won with a total score of 8: 1.

In the quarterfinals, Atletico fought against Lisbon Sporting. The first match of the "Colchesteros" was at home and was ahead at the 22nd second of the game, when Diego Costa took advantage of a defender's error and otpasoval on Koke, who ferried the ball into the net. Shortly before the break, Antoine Grismann scored the second goal, providing his team with a comfortable advantage over the return match. A week later in Lisbon, Atletico suffered his first and only defeat at the moment in the current Europa League, which, however, did not prevent them from reaching the semifinals, as Fredi Montero did not have the exact blow even to transfer the game into extra-time.

A ticket to the finals Atletico played with the London Arsenal, and she went to the team Diego Simeone is not easy. During the visit to London, the guests were in the minority already in the 10th minute of the game, when the second yellow card was defender Shime Vrsalko, and after him for disputes with the referee to the stands went and head coach Diego Simeone. After that, Arsenal in all respects surpassed the opponent, repeatedly threatening the gates of Jan Cloud, but the wall stood in the way of the opponent's attacks, and once to help him came the bar of the gate. At the 61st minute, the Slovak, however, capitulated after the attack of Alexander Lakazetta head. However, out of 28 punches of the "Gunners" only this one ended with a goal, and after Atletico after it, it was not something that did not pour, but found the strength to recoup. Laurent Kocelniki comically failed to take the ball in the fight with Antoine Grizmann, and Shkodran Mustafi fell flat, after which the Frenchman skillfully completed the attack, scoring the most important away goal.

In the second leg, Atletico scored a classic minimum win. They allowed the "Gunners" to own the ball, but this time at the gates of Jan Cloud, dangerous moments arose only occasionally. But David Ospiny had enough work, and in the time added to the first half, Atletico was ahead - Grizmann gave the transfer to the penalty area on Diego Costa, who easily won the fight from Hector Belierin and sent the ball into the net. In the second half, Atletico played reliably on the defensive, and the Cloud coped with the rare blows that the players of Arsenal struck, and deservedly reached the final of the Europa League.

The best match Home meeting with Lokomotiv at the stage of the 1/8 finals, which Atletico convincingly won with a score of 3: 0. "Mattresses" had the advantage from the first to the last minute, scored three goals, and the opponent was allowed to inflict just one hit on the goal gate of Axel Werner, who in this confrontation replaced the injured Jan Cloud.

The key to success Atletico has the strongest team among all the participants of the current League of Europe.

Team Diego Simeone characterizes a solid foundation in the face of one of the strongest lines of defense in Europe, technical and versatile midfield players, able to adapt to any situation, as well as effective and effective attack, where in the second half of the season, Antoine Grizmann.

In the first 30 meetings of the current campaign, the French striker scored 11 goals, but in the last 22 matches he scored 19 times. Antoine played a key role in the difficult confrontation with Arsenal at the semi-final stage, scoring the most important away goal, as well as assisting the home winner of the winning goal, Diego Coste.

History of appearances in the European League / UEFA Cup Atletico will play in the final of the Europa League for the third time. In 2010, the "mattress" became the first winners of the League of Europe, when it replaced the UEFA Cup, beating Fulham in the final with a score of 2: 1. After two more seasons, in the finals of 2012 the team Diego Simeone defeated Athletic - 3: 0.