On Saturday evening, Zinedine Zidane's Real Madrid side face Atletico knowing that in the last three seasons, the Rojiblancos have taken 16 of the 18 points available in the league, something which continues to torment Los Blancos. Indeed, since the 2013/14 season, the LaLiga leaders have failed to win against Simeone in the league; four defeats and two draws that have meant a measly return of just two points. Even Barcelona, in the same number of matches, has managed to get fewer points than Atleti against Real Madrid. Twelve of the 18 available have gone the way of the Catalans but unlike the rojiblancos, Barcelona have lost in El Clasico twice since 2014. Firstly, Carlo Ancelotti beat them at the Estadio Santiago Bernabeu by 3-1 and in 2015/16, already with Zidane on the bench, Los Blancos came away with a surprising but deserved 2-1 win at the Camp Nou.
Simeone's side are certainly their toughest rival even though Real Madrid have scored 356 goals against Atletico in the 213 times they have faced each other throughout history in all competitions - an average of 1.6 goals per game.Madrid derby, many players have swapped clubs and attempted to try their luck with the other side of the divide. From Monchin Triana, who started his career at Atletico in 1919 and spent nine years there before crossing the shores of the Manzanares, to Garcia Calvo, Esnaider, Paco Llorente and the famous case of Ramon Grosso, who spent 17 years at Los Blancos, save for a loan spell at Atletico in order to help them avoid relegation. However, in the long list of players who have swapped the white for the red and white and vice versa, there are only a select few who have known the joy of scoring for both clubs in the fixture.
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