That Simeone ended almost a decade and a half of humiliation in the Bernabeu in the 2012-13 Copa del Rey final made it all the sweeter for Atletico fans. El Cholo wasn't finished there. Atletico claimed a first Spanish championship since 1995-96 the following season and beat Real Madrid at the Bernabeu en route, their first league success on their rivals' turf since 1999-00 and the beginning of a six-game Liga unbeaten streak encompassing four wins and two draws.

However, Simeone's Midas touch has not translated into knockout competitions. Real Madrid and Atletico have faced each other five times in cup fixtures since the 2013 Bernabeu final and Real have come out on top in all but one, a 4-2 aggregate defeat in the Copa del Rey in 2014-15. That went some way to Atletico avenging a 5-0 drubbing over 180 minutes the previous season, but it is in Europe that Simeone's side have suffered most.

In each of the past three campaigns, Real Madrid have beaten Atletico in the Champions League. Two of those games were played over 120 minutes in the final, Atletico losing both in crushing circumstances. Last year's defeat on penalties in Milan led Simeone to some serious introspection, and in Lisbon two seasons earlier his side had one hand on the trophy.

Wednesday's game is another matter entirely, and if Atletico go through it will be Simeone's greatest accomplishment to date bar none. Zinedine Zidane's side were superior in every aspect during their 3-0 first-leg victory, and in order to stage a comeback Atletico will be required to prevent Real from scoring, something no defence has managed in more than a year. Madrid have found the net in 60 consecutive games and Zidane's policy of rotation is paying dividends at the business end of the season.

Among the Real manager's greatest victories at the Bernabeu has been drumming into Cristiano Ronaldo that he is not needed in every game. In previous seasons, a fixture at an already-relegated Granada would have been a red rag to Ronaldo's drive to outscore all comers in pursuit of the Pichihi trophy. But Zidane has rationed Ronaldo's involvement in 2016-17, trusting others to keep Real's title challenge alive while ensuring his star player has remained fit and firing for the big occasions and less distracted by individual pursuits.

AP Photo/Francisco Seco

It has worked like a charm. Ronaldo has been in devastating form in the Champions League, scoring five in the quarterfinal defeat of Bayern Munich and adding three more against Atletico to practically ensure a third Champions League final in four seasons. In the first leg of last season's semifinal against Manchester City, he was absent through injury. That was the last time Madrid failed to score in any competition, testament to City's overly cautious approach but also to Ronaldo busting his flush in an ill-conceived attempt to set a record for playing every minute of the Liga season.

Zidane said ahead of the opening leg that he would tell his side to approach the game as one of 90 minutes, not 180. In the Calderon, he will instruct his players to contest a game within the game. Real are often at their best at the start of matches, while Atletico have been slow out of the blocks in the second half of the season and have found goals hard to come by in recent weeks. Simeone doesn't have the luxury of being able to sit back for a 1-0 win, and that will play into the visitors' hands: score early and Madrid are in the final.

There is a recent precedent for what Atletico need to do on Wednesday, a 4-0 Liga victory over Carlo Ancelotti's Madrid in 2014-15 when Simeone's side carved out a 2-0 lead inside 20 minutes against a disjointed Real, who failed miserably to react in the absence of Luka Modric, Pepe, Sergio Ramos and Marcelo.

As proven on several occasions this season Zidane has solved that riddle, one that consistently eluded his predecessors. After his second string put Granada to the sword with four goals in the opening 35 minutes, it is the turn of his regular starters to come out blazing by the banks of the Manzanares.

The mood among Atletico fans this past week has been one of defiance, but Real will seek to turn that to resignation as swiftly as possible against a side that laboured to a 1-0 home victory over Eibar at the weekend and required an Antoine Griezmann penalty to beat Leicester by the same score line in the Calderon in their previous Champions League tie.