Atlético de Madrid and Real Sociedad named their starting lineups before kickoff at La Cartuja in Seville, where access problems at the stadium caused delays for supporters trying to get in. Atlético went with Musso, Molina, Pubill, Le Normand, Ruggeri, Koke, Llorente, Giuliano, Lookman, Julián Alvarez and Griezmann, while Real Sociedad started Marrero, Aramburu, Caleta-Car, Jon Martín, Sergio Gómez, Sucic, Turrientes, Carlos Soler, Barrene, Guedes and Oyarzabal.
Before the match, Matarazzo told TVE he was calm, that his players were prepared, connected and ready, and that the routine had brought the team tranquility. He said the side had not done anything different from any other match, except perhaps in individual meetings, and added that he had 100% confidence in his players.
The final carried different weight for both clubs. Atlético was trying to win the Copa del Rey again 13 years after its last title, while Real Sociedad arrived with its supporters inside the stadium after the pain of the 2020 final, played in 2021 without its fans because of coronavirus. The setting at La Cartuja made Seville the center of the football day, and the stakes were plain from the opening whistle: Atlético had Griezmann on five goals in the competition, while Raúl García of Osasuna led the scoring with seven and Turrientes had three for Real Sociedad.
The friction around the stadium told its own story. Even with the lineups out and the atmosphere building for a major final, some fans were still dealing with delays at the access points, a reminder that the matchday experience was far from seamless. That left La Cartuja holding both the celebration and the bottleneck, with the football inside moving ahead while supporters outside waited to get through.
For Atlético, this was a chance to recover a trophy that had been out of reach for more than a decade. For Real Sociedad, the difference was even more immediate: this time, its fans were there to see it. In a final shaped by memory as much as by the teams on the field, that alone changed the night.
