Real Madrid got the better of Atletico Madrid in the semifinals of the Supercopa de Espana, held in Saudi Arabia at the start of 2024, as they continued a rivalry spanning over a century
Carlo Ancelotti's Real Madrid are battling for the La Liga title and their only defeat in Spain's top flight this season came when Atleti won El Derbi at the Wanda Metropolitano in September.
Atletico have played the downtrodden underdog of the affair throughout most of the two clubs' illustrious history, but they have seldom played it better than under Diego Simeone, a head coach and personality seemingly purpose-built for such occasions.
Simeone's charges secured a thrilling 4-2 Copa del Rey extra-time win over Real Madrid in their most recent meeting to end Ancelotti's chances of a domestic double in 2024. Madrid looked to be on course for a revenge win through Brahim Diaz's first-half goal at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday, February 4, only for Marcos Llorente to net a stoppage-time equaliser for Atleti.
Here, The Sporting News looks at the results of El Derbi through the decades and compares Madrid and Atleti's respective trophy lists.
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Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid history, head to head, all-time results
Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid have played each other in 235 competitive matches. Madrid have won 116, Atleti have won 59, and there have been 61 draws.
By the time Madrid FC had the honorific title Real bestowed upon it by King Alfonso XIII in 1920, the club had already hoovered up most of the Spanish capital's smaller teams and best players through mergers and acquisitions.
Atletico, largely thanks to the financial support of their then-affiliate/parent club Athletic Bilbao, were able to resist many of these advances, and the city rivalry was born.
Having previously competed in regional competitions and the Copa del Rey, the first Madrid derby in La Liga was won 2-1 by Real Madrid. Atleti won their first league encounter at the fourth time of asking but were relegated at the end of that season and did not return to the top flight until 1934.
Following the Spanish Civil War, Atletico won their first La Liga title in 1939/40 and retained their crown the following year. They repeated the trick under the great Helenio Herrera in 1949/50 and 1950/51.
Madrid had only won two league titles at that point but soon entered their own golden era, with the likes of Alfredo Di Stefano and Paco Gento inspiring them to victory in the first five European Cups. That run included a semifinal win over Atleti in a tie that went to a playoff in Zaragoza, with Los Blancos coming from behind to win 2-1 thanks to goals from Di Stefano and Ferenc Puskas.
May 1959: Atletico Madrid goalkeeper Manuel Pazos makes a leaping save from Real Madrid’s Raymond Kopa. pic.twitter.com/SgUvti2dFa
— The Antique Football (@AntiqueFootball) February 22, 2014Atletico gained revenge with back-to-back wins over Madrid in the 1960 and 1961 Copa del Rey finals and further titles followed in the 1970s, most notably under Luis Aragones.
El Derbi in the 1980s became a tough gig for Atleti as Madrid closed out the decade with five straight titles, even if a famous 4-0 win at the Santiago Bernabeu in November 1987 brought considerable bragging rights for Cesar Luis Menotti's side, repeating the feat achieved by Aragones' team two years earlier.
History repeated itself in 1999/00 as Atletico claimed a derby win but were ultimately relegated. They were back in the top division by 2002 but would not taste success in El Derbi again until a 2-1 Copa del Rey final triumph at the Bernabeu in 2013.
This was now the Diego Simeone era and Atletico claimed an incredible title success at the expense of heavyweight Barcelona and Madrid sides in 2013/14. They almost added the Champions League before Sergio Ramos' equaliser deep into stoppage time in Lisbon. During extra time, Madrid ran out 4-1 winners and a Cristiano Ronaldo penalty stands as one of his record 22 goals in the fixture.
Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid: Who has won the most trophies?
That win at the Estadio da Luz secured Madrid's 10th European title and they have motored on since La Decima. Los Blancos are 14-time European champions, with the first of three successive triumphs under Zinedine Zidane coming on penalties at Atletico's expense in 2016.
Overall, Los Colchoneros have finished as runners-up in three European Cup finals. It remains the final frontier for Simeone to conquer after his La Liga successes in 2013/14 and 2020/21.
Like their 14 European titles, Madrid's 35 league successes are an all-time record in Spain. Atletico come in third with 11, behind Barcelona's 27 titles.
Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid trophies won
| Real Madrid | Atletico Madrid | |
| La Liga | 35 | 11 |
| Copa del Rey | 20 | 10 |
| Copa de la Liga | 1 | — |
| Supercopa/Copa Presidente/Copa Eva Duarte | 13 | 4 |
| UEFA Champions League/European Cup | 14 | — |
| UEFA Europa League/UEFA Cup | 2 | 3 |
| UEFA Cup Winners' Cup | — | 1 |
| UEFA Super Cup | 5 | 3 |
| FIFA Club World Cup | 5 | — |
| Intercontinental Cup | 3 | 1 |
Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid biggest ever wins, defeats
The largest margin of victory in a competitive game is 5-0, recorded first by Atletico in 1947/48 and twice by Real Madrid (1958/59 and 1983/84).
In 2019, a friendly encounter in the International Champions Cup yielded an incredible 7-3 scoreline in Atletico's favour.
Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid La Liga record
| Real Madrid wins | Draws | Atletico wins |
| 91 | 41 | 41 |
Top appearances in Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid
| Player | Club | Appearances |
| Sergio Ramos* | Real Madrid | 43 |
| Paco Gento | Real Madrid | 42 |
| Manolo Sanchis | Real Madrid | 42 |
| Koke* | Atletico Madrid | 40 |
| Karim Benzema* | Real Madrid | 39 |
| Luka Modric* | Real Madrid | 38 |
*Denotes active player
Bold denotes player still playing for Real Madrid or Atletico Madrid
Top scorers in Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid
| Player | Club | Goals |
| Cristiano Ronaldo* | Real Madrid | 22 |
| Alfredo Di Stefano | Real Madrid | 17 |
| Raul | Real Madrid | 15 |
| Santillana | Real Madrid | 15 |
| Ferenc Puskas | Real Madrid | 13 |
| Santiago Bernabeu | Real Madrid | 12 |
| Emilio Butragueno | Real Madrid | 12 |
| Paco Campos | Atletico Madrid | 12 |
*Denotes active player
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