Real Madrid forward Cristiano Ronaldo during the Open Media Day before his team's UEFA Champions League final clash with Atletico Madrid. (Photo : Getty Images)
La Liga giants Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid will face each other in the 2015-2016 UEFA Champions League final to be held at the Stadio Giuseppe Meazza in San Siro on Saturday, May 28.
The matchup will be a repeat of the 2014 final at the Estádio da Luz in Lisbon where Los Blancos crushed Atleti in extra time, 4-1.
Spanish star Diego Costa is still featured by Los Colchoneros then, but this time they have French goal-scoring machine Antoine Griezmann at the helm of attack. Meanwhile, Real still relies on three-time Ballon d'Or winner Cristiano Ronaldo and his host of other superstars in Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, and Sergio Ramos two years later.
Real plunged into the final after a 1-0 win over Manchester City at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium on May 4, the Daily Mirror reported.
Surprisingly, an own goal by City's Fernando at the 20th minute was the winner of the match for Zinedine Zidane's side even though the game saw plenty of action from Ronaldo and Bale. Benzema was not around then due to injury.
Meanwhile, Atletico advanced to the final after it won on away goals against Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich, 2-2 on aggregate. Diego Simeone's squad lost the second leg, 1-2, at the Allianz Arena on May 3, but Griezmann's away goal in the previous leg proved to be the difference, as per BBC Sport.
It should also be noted that Atleti defeated the defending champions, FC Barcelona, in the quarterfinals of the said tournament, 3-2 on aggregate, which makes them no pushover at all against their more illustrious city rivals.
The contrast in style between Zidane and Simeone's teams is evident as the former is more of an offensive juggernaut while the latter thrives on limiting their opponents' chances.
The game is expected to be an exciting, high-octane affair with lots of action on both ends of the field. It would be interesting to see how Atletico will contain Real's three-pronged attack of Ronaldo, Benzema, and Bale as much as what magnificent goals can the just mentioned three pull off in the contest.
The predicted result is a 1-0 victory for Real Madrid.
Real Madrid starting lineup (4-3-3 formation): Navas; Carvajal, Pepe, Ramos, Marcelo; Modric, Kroos, Isco; Bale, Benzema, Ronaldo
Atletico Madrid starting lineup (4-4-2 formation): Oblak; Juanfran, Gimenez, Godin, Luis; Niguez, Gabi, Fernandez, Koke; Griezmann, Torres
