Four previous European Madrid derby clashes
MADRID: Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid face off for the fifth time in a European tie when Atletico travel to the Santiago Bernabeu for the first leg of their Champions League semi-final today.
All four previous ties have been a story of near misses and heartbreak for Atletico as Real have gone on to win the trophy in three of the four years thanks to seeing off their neighbours.
We take a look at those previous four ties:
z IT says much about Atletico’s luck in these ties that even a aggregate scoreline that would nowadays seem them into the final wasn’t enough in 1959.
Real won the first leg 2-1 at the Bernabeu before Atletico levelled the tie two weeks later with a 1-0 victory.
However, in the days before the away goals rule, Real won a playoff held in Zaragoza 2-1 thanks to goals from the legendary Alfredo di Stefano and Ferenc Puskas on their way to winning the competition for a fourth consecutive season.
z ATLETICO travelled to Lisbon euphoric having broken Real and Barcelona’s dominance by winning La Liga for the first time in 18 years.
The party looked set to continue with a first ever Champions League when Diego Godin gave them a first-half lead they held until the 93rd minute.
In what has become a common occurrence Sergio Ramos saved the day for Real with a towering header.
Los Blancos then ran riot in extra-time with Gareth Bale, Marcelo and Cristiano Ronaldo all netting to deliver Los Blancos’ long-awaited 10th European Cup.
z ATLETICO bounced back from their Lisbon disappointment manfully and strung together a run of seven derbies unbeaten as the sides met in the Spanish Super Cup, King’s Cup, La Liga and again in the Champions League in the 2014/15 season.
Yet, again they were undone on the European stage by a late goal as Javier Hernandez struck a minute from time at the Bernabeu to edge a bad-tempered tie 1-0 on aggregate after Arda Turan’s red card had left Atletico down to 10 men.
z AND to complete the set of Atletico hard luck stories, add a penalty shootout to the mix.
In Milan, Atletico sought revenge, but fell behind early with Ramos again their scourge from a set-piece.
This time, though, it was the red and white half of Madrid that forced extra-time in the San Siro thanks to Yannick Carrasco’s equaliser.
Extra-time became a war of attrition as multiple players on both sides cramped up amidst the hot and humid conditions in a goalless 30 minutes.
However, all five Real takers kept their cool from the spot as Juanfran’s miss gave Real star Ronaldo the spotlight he loves to net the winning penalty. AFP