Football: UCL SEMI- FINAL, REAL VS ATLETICO

Holders Real Madrid CF could scarcely face a more familiar foe as they continue their bid to become the first team to successfully defend the Uefa Champions League title with a semifinal against neighbours Club Atlético de Madrid – the side they beat in the finals of 2014 and 2016. Real Madrid have won four of their seven European matches against Atlético, losing only one, and have ended their city rivals' Uefa Champions League hopes in each of the last three seasons.

Previous Meetings

This is a fifth European tie for Real Madrid and Atlético, all in the European Cup, with Madrid having won all four previous ties.
Their first international fixtures came in the 1958/59 European Cup semifinals. Madrid won the home first leg 2-1, Héctor Rial's goal (15) and a Ferenc Puskás penalty (33) overturning Chuzo's 13th-minute opener. Atlético prevailed in the return thanks to Enrique Collar's 43rd-minute effort.






That meant a replay six days later, played in Zaragoza, where Alfredo Di Stéfano's early strike was swiftly cancelled out by Collar. Puskás dealt the decisive blow three minutes before halftime to take Madrid into a fourth successive final.

The line-ups at La Romareda on 13 May 1959 were:
Real Madrid: Domínguez, Miche, Santamaría, Lesmes, Ruiz, Zárraga, Mateos, Kopa, Di Stéfano, Puskás, Gento.
Atlético: Pazos, Rivilla, Callejo, Mendiondo, Chuzo, Calleja, Miguel, Agustín, Vavá, Peiró, Collar.
It was 55 years until the teams' next European contest, in the 2014 final in Lisbon – the first final fixture involving clubs from the same city in European Cup history. Diego Godín's header (36) gave newly crowned Spanish champions Atlético the lead, and it looked like that would be enough for Diego Simeone's side to claim their first European Cup – only for Sergio Ramos to level at the last (90+3). Carlo Ancelotti's Madrid ran away with it in extra time courtesy of goals from Gareth Bale (110), Marcelo (118) and a Cristiano Ronaldo penalty (120).

The line-ups at the Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica were:
Real Madrid: Casillas, Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Fábio Coentrão (Marcelo 59), Khedira (Isco 59), Modric, Di María, Bale, Benzema (Morata 79), Ronaldo.
Atlético: Courtois, Juanfran, Miranda, Godín, Filipe Luís (Alderweireld 83), Tiago, Koke, Gabi, Raúl García (Sosa 66), Villa, Diego Costa (Adrián López 9).
Pepe was an unused substitute for Madrid.
The Merengues also came out on top in the 2014/15 quarterfinals, Javier Hernández heading the only goal of the tie late in the Santiago Bernabéu second leg.

At the Santiago Bernabéu on 22 April 2015, the line-ups were:
Real Madrid: Casillas, Varane, Pepe, Ramos, Fábio Coentrão (Arbeloa 90+1), Carvajal, Kroos, Isco (Illarramendi 90+3), James, Hernández (Jesé 90+2), Ronaldo.
Atlético: Oblak, Juanfran, Miranda, Godín, Jesús Gámez, Tiago (Giménez 86), Koke, Saúl Ñíguez (Gabi 46), Griezmann (Raúl García 65), Arda Turan, Mandžukic.
Madrid and Atlético both advanced all the way to the final again in 2015/16. Sergio Ramos' 15th-minute breakthrough in Milan was cancelled out by Atlético substitute Yannick Carrasco 11 minutes from time, Antoine Griezmann having missed a 48th-minute spot kick.
With no further goals, the match went to penalties. After Lucas Vázquez, Marcelo, Bale and Ramos had converted for Madrid, and Griezmann, Gabi and Saúl Ñíguez had done likewise, Juanfran struck the base of the post with Atlético's fourth kick, leaving Ronaldo to convert and take the trophy to Madrid for the 11th time.

The teams at San Siro on 28 May 2016 were:
Real Madrid: Navas, Carvajal (Danilo 52), Ramos, Pepe, Marcelo, Casemiro, Kroos (Isco 72), Modric, Bale, Benzema (Lucas Vázquez 77), Ronaldo.
Atlético: Oblak, Juanfran, Godín, Savic, Filipe Luís (Lucas Hernández 109), Gabi, Augusto Fernández (Carrasco 46), Koke (Partey 116), Saúl, Griezmann, F Torres.
The sides have met in 204 league, Spanish Cup and Spanish Super Cup games, with 103 Madrid wins, 51 for Atlético and 50 draws. Atlético have lost just one of their last ten domestic matches against their local rivals since losing the 2014 Uefa Champions League final, recording five victories and four draws.
That sole defeat came in this season's first Liga encounter, Madrid triumphing 3-0 at the Vicente Calderón on 19 November 2016 thanks to a Ronaldo hat-trick (29, 71pen, 77). The derby at the Santiago Bernabéu on 8 April finished 1-1, Griezmann earning the visitors a point with an 85th-minute equaliser after Pepe's opener for Madrid (52).