Real Madrid Hold Off Atletico to Advance to 2017 UEFA Champions League Final

Real Madrid survived Atletico Madrid's comeback attempt to advance to the UEFA Champions League final despite losing Wednesday's semi-final second leg 2-1 at the Vicente Calderon, sealing a 4-2 aggregate win.

Los Rojiblancos bolted out of the gates and notched early strikes through Saul Niguez and an Antoine Griezmann penalty to flip the fixture on its head, putting to bed any notion the semi-final was predetermined.

But Isco hit back with the crucial away goal following a superb piece of Karim Benzema skill just minutes before the interval, and Real set up for the goalless second half they needed to proceed to a second successive European final.

Real's prize for victory is a final opposite fellow qualifiers Juventus at the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales, on June 3, and OptaPaolo noted evidence more than hinting at which team boasts the superior defence:

Atletico wouldn't be a Diego Simeone side if they played without passion, but few might have been prepared for just how impassioned the hosts were in what was the club's final Champions League game at the Calderon.

Predictably, Los Blancos controlled possession early on while the hosts operated on the counter. What wasn't quite as predictable was Saul's header in from a Koke corner after 12 minutes, making the initial dent against opposition—not for the first time in Europe, per BT Sport:

Real manager Zinedine Zidane will have dealt with pressure situations and frail leads many times in his career, but little could have prepared his side for the shock that fell soon after.

Four minutes after the opener, Raphael Varane's foul on Fernando Torres inside the area was too clumsy for referee Cuneyt Cakir's liking, and Griezmann stepped forward in the hopes he could reduce the aggregate deficit to one goal.

Nerves were high considering Griezmann missed a spot-kick in last season's final, but the Frenchman made no mistake this time around, putting a second past Real stopper Keylor Navas despite appearing to slip in his run-up.

Squawka illustrated how Griezmann's record pinpoints him as one of, if not the deadliest finishers in La Liga given his recent form in Europe's premier competition:

Real captain Sergio Ramos and Diego Godin earned themselves a yellow card apiece, the latter for an elbow on Cristiano Ronaldo before something the former said saw him entered into the book as well.

Isco was fortunate not to follow his captain with a caution of his own, and it was instead Atleti captain Gabi who brought the yellow card count up to five after just 37 minutes following his overzealous reaction soon after.

Match of the Day illustrated just how feisty this clash had been over the course of the first period, with so much resting on the line compared to your standard Madrid derby:

Real were intelligent in their attempt to take the pace out of the fixture and sap their rivals of their momentum, with the hosts even pressing for a third whenever they found themselves on the ball.

Isco dealt a hammer blow to their chances of advancing just before the break, though, after Benzema tip-toed his way past three defenders from the left corner and into the box.

An inch-perfect pass to Toni Kroos resulted in a shot that Jan Oblak was equal to, but Isco responded quickest to the rebound and diverted home, as FourFourTwo's Kristan Heneage marvelled at a terrific piece of play:

Atletico didn't need reminding, but an away goal for Real meant the home side now had to score five to progress—providing Real's goal count stopped at one—to make qualifying that much more difficult:

The two teams engaged in a slightly more subdued contest after the restart, and Simeone was the first to blink in making substitutes as Kevin Gameiro and Thomas Partey came on for Torres and Jose Gimenez before the hour mark.

Gameiro almost immediately had his chance to net a third for Atletico when Yannick Carrasco fired a close-range shot into Navas, only for the Frenchman to bullet his header from the rebound straight at the Costa Rican.

Ronaldo then went up the other end and thought he'd effectively settled the tie after looping his header past Oblak, only for the linesman to pull it back for offside—although replays suggested it should have stood.

With 12 minutes remaining, Lucas Vazquez and Marco Asensio—two players who had a great impact in the first leg—came on for Casemiro and Benzema.

However, broadcaster Deji Kofi Faremi wondered if withdrawing anchor Casemiro was a savvy plan:

Los Rojiblancos continued to look the more likely to score next, but Real were succeeding with every attempt they made to delay proceedings as the heavens opened over Spain's capital.

And like the weather, Atletico went from having a beam of hope in their quest for the final to departing the tournament in much gloomier circumstances.

The Bianconeri promise to offer Real a stiff contest in the final after beating AS Monaco 4-1 across both legs of their semi-final, not to mention going 180 minutes without conceding against Barcelona in the quarter-finals.

Atleti, meanwhile, will regret they weren't able to give the Vicente Calderon the goodbye it deserved before they move to the 68,000-capacity Wanda Metropolitano, hoping to write fresh European memories at a new venue.