Real madrid atletico bilbao

In the following campaign, Athletic pipped Madrid by a single goal and better head-to-head record, [36] but their league and cup double that year was the last time they lifted either trophy; Real Madrid soon responded with a run of five-in-a-row, led by their group of homegrown talent, La Quinta del Buitre. During a hotly-contested fixture in Bilbao in March , the referee awarded a dubious penalty to the away side and had to halt the game for 12 minutes after objects were thrown at the linesman and Madrid goalkeeper Paco Buyo.

Entering the 21st century, other clubs offered significant challenges to Real Madrid, such as Atlético Madrid their city rivals who were originally formed as an offshoot of Athletic Bilbao and thus have a similar name, crest and kit , [40] [41] Valencia and Barcelona. Real Madrid have a global fanbase and are one of the world's richest, [43] most decorated [44] and best-attended [45] [46] clubs. Athletic have a much lower profile and have occasionally flirted with relegation [47] a situation observed with derision at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium , [48] although they have consistently ranked among the top half-dozen clubs in Spain for performance, [42] [49] matchday attendance [45] and popularity.

There is no doubt who has the upper hand in recent meetings: in —05 Athletic won home and away against Real Madrid, but since then they won just two of their home matches [34] [52] in the dozen seasons up to —17 , and took no points at all from the 12 matches at the Bernabéu [53] with Real Madrid registering four or five goals on several occasions; [54] the Merengues also won both legs of the cup tie between the sides in they would not be paired again for 15 years.