The Battle of Madrid: The key battles of where it could be won or lost

Tomorrow sees the long-awaited rematch between Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid in the Champions League final. The previous ‘Battle of Madrid’ came just two years ago and ended in dramatic fashion as a late Sergio Ramos equaliser forced the match into extra time, where a tired Atletico were torn apart. The ‘Decima’ was Real’s, but they’ve since struggled to out manoeuvre Diego Simeone’s men. Is this going to be the cherry-on-the-top moment Atletico fans have been waiting for? Here are the key clashes.

Europe’s best defence vs one of its best attacks

When you look at both sides it is genuinely a case of the unstoppable force meeting the immovable object. One side renown for its defensive cohesiveness and the other as a flat-track bully, rolling over teams due to their superior attacking strength. Something has to give.

Atletico Madrid have earned themselves the reputation as being the defensive kings of club football. Their compact, defend as a unit style has caused many headaches for opposition attackers this season as they become increasingly frustrated at how few chances they’ve given. And even when they do breach the defence, Jan Oblak was there to save the day - he’s got 32 clean sheets this year. Atletico only conceded 18 goals all season in the league. Diego Godin, Filipe Luis and Juanfran could play blindfolded together and still end up having a better defensive record than most teams.

Yet if you were to pick a side capable of breaching that defence, Real Madrid would be near the top of that list. The explosive, goal-scoring prowess of their front three: Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo has seen them score 110 goals in La Liga, nearly double what Atletico managed (63) – only Barcelona (112) scored more in all of Europe. They’ve scored in all but three of their Champions League matches this season (12) and it’s no surprise to see Cristiano lead the scoring charts again with 16 for the current campaign and 93 in his career.

Will Cristiano be at 100% for the final?

It was obvious to see back in 2014, despite the shirtless posing after scoring a late penalty, that Cristiano wasn’t fully fit. The Portuguese international looks after himself tirelessly but a thigh problem flared up towards the end of that campaign – déjà vu – and his performance in the final was largely forgettable, celebration not withstanding.

He was only needed for 45 minutes in Real’s last game of the season versus Deportivo but was withdrawn at half-time when it was clear Barcelona wouldn’t lose to Granada. At the time it appeared to be a question of keeping him fresh ahead of this final but he’s since missed a lot of training and on Tuesday wasn’t able to complete the session. The fears were allayed as he trained with the squad the following day and declared he’d be 100% for Saturday, but I’m not convinced.

After struggling to find his place under Rafa Benitez we’ve seen the Cristiano of old since Zinedine Zidane replaced the Spaniard. Clearly happier, back in his natural position and once again considered the centrepiece of the team. Real need Cristiano at his best if they are to break down Atletico but, by the same token, Real can’t afford to carry him like they did back in 2014 either.

Zidane needs to outfox Simeone, which is no easy task

The master is very much meeting the apprentice in Milan. Since that fateful night back in 2014, Diego Simeone has found the winning formula against Real Madrid – losing only once in his last ten meetings with their city rivals. This year saw them win at the Bernabeu for the third successive season in a row, as Simeone showed Zidane there was no easy fix.

The Frenchman, to his credit, has responded perfectly since that defeat and ended the season with 12 successive league victories. Some of the performances in that run have been reminiscent of those under Carlo Ancelotti when they won the Champions League. It hasn’t always been pretty, but they possess a ruthlessness in front of goal which most teams simply can’t cope with – not even Barcelona.

The current drab run against their city neighbours must be a concern for Real fans but the one bit of joy is that, in Europe, Atletico have yet to record a single victory against them. The two sides have only met twice in the competition but both times has seen Real come out on top – the victory in the 2014 final as well as winning in last season’s quarter final tie. Can Zidane extend that run?

The ultimate sideman could be key

Antoine Griezmann and Cristiano Ronaldo are their respective teams’ top scorers but they will be tightly marshalled which could allow one of the supporting cast to make the headlines. Gareth Bale has garnered a reputation as ‘Mr Final’ because he’s scored the decisive goals in both Real’s Copa del Rey triumph as well as in Lisbon against Atletico, his header making it 2-1 on the night. Bale has put in some of his best performances in a Real Madrid shirt recently and could see this as the night he truly becomes the main man.

For Atletico Madrid the supporting cast role falls primarily to Fernando Torres. A few months ago, you’d be considered mad for saying he should partner Griezmann up front but the Spaniard is enjoying a renaissance of late and has rolled back the years to ease the burden on his strike partner. Torres might even find himself as the main striker with Griezmann dropping deeper to help out the midfield. Could the man from Atletico’s youth academy sink Real Madrid’s hopes and hand his side their first ever Champions League title?