Madrid derby: Real don’t lose to Atlético at home, they have the upper hand in the return leg

One of the most prestigious duels in Spanish football awaits us on Thursday night. Real Madrid will take on Atlético Madrid in the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey at 9pm. How are the two teams measuring up against each other?

The duel between Real Madrid and Atlético Madrid is the most repeated match in the history of Spanish football. Los Blancos and Colchoneros have faced each other in 291 competitive matches. The second most frequent match is El Clásico, Real Madrid and Barcelona have met in 250 competitive matches.

Unlike El Clásico, where the balance is fairly even, El Derbi Madrileño has a clear leader. Real Madrid has collected 151 wins, which is 52% of Los Blancos’ success rate. Los Rojiblancos won 72 matches, the other 69 ended in draws.

Real Madrid won the first official derby in 1906 and even more than a century later, they still hold dominance over their city rival.

The dominance of the Chamartín footballers is also reflected in their personal statistics. The top scorer in the Madrid derby is Cristiano Ronaldo, who has scored 22 goals in 31 games. To find Atlético’s top scorer, you have to drop to sixth position, where Paco Campos is with 12 goals in 18 games.

In terms of games played, Sergio Ramos is in first position. In his last ‘derby’ he played 43 games against the Colchoneros, surpassing Paco Gento and Manolo Sanchís, who have 42 games. Adelardo has the most starts for Atlético (35). However, he will probably be matched by Koke later this season, as the Rojiblancos captain has played 33 games.

Bernabéu’s home form

As far as recent games are concerned, as historically, Real Madrid have the upper hand. This is even more pronounced in home games. Los Blancos have not lost to their city rivals at the Santiago Bernabéu (one game at Di Stéfano) for seven games in a row, winning four times and drawing three.

In addition, Real have won their last three league home games, twice 2-0 and once 1-0. The Colchoneros’ last win at the rival’s ground dates back to 27 February 2016. The 1::0 win was scored by Griezmann, Ronaldo, Danilo or James Rodriguez played for Real, Juanfran, Gabi or Fernando Torres played for Atlético.

Source: Transfermarkt