Bale hopes Real Madrid avoids repeating mistakes of 2014 final

Real Madrid star Gareth Bale hopes his team has better command of Saturday's Champions League final than it did in 2014 against the same opponent, Atletico Madrid.

It took a late equaliser by Sergio Ramos to give Real Madrid a chance at La Decima, as Atletico held a 1-0 lead in added time. While Bale went on to score on Real Madrid's way to a 4-1 victory, he doesn't want the first part of the scoreline to repeat itself in Milan.

"I would rather not be 1-0 down with one minute to go, but it definitely plays a part," Bale told ESPN FC's Dermot Corrigan, when asked if knowledge of that previous encounter could be an advantage. "The first thing you think about is your last final and to know you can beat the opponent. We know this will be a completely different game, but we are confident we can win it."

Bale added, "In the Champions League I don't think we've conceded a goal at home all season and we've been improving all the time. We work together to defend and we attack together. We're all improving, I feel like I'm improving all the time myself and looking forward to the final now."

That improvement's visible over the timeline of Real Madrid's season quite clearly in league play, as Zinedine Zidane took over at the helm of Los Blancos in Rafa Benitez's stead. Real Madrid was, however, consistently dominant in the Champions League under the Spanish tactician.

Bale would like to give Zidane an accolade to celebrate after five months on the job.

"I've a very good relationship (with him)," Bale said of his manager. "We speak all the time about what we can improve. He gives us freedom and confidence on the pitch and that has showed in the second half of the season. I think that is why our performances have improved.

"We're hitting our peak and playing very well at the moment. Hopefully we can take the form we've been producing into the final and win the trophy."