When is the Madrid derby?

The Madrid derby is one of Europe’s most hotly-contested rivalries, with meetings in recent years almost always very tight. However, that wasn’t the case when the Madrid derby was played for the first time in the 2025/26 season, with Atleti running out big winners in LaLiga.

The clubs will meet again at the Bernabeu later in the campaign, while there will also be at least one meeting in cup competitions given Real Madrid are scheduled to play Atletico Madrid in the Spanish Supercopa in early 2026.

When is the Madrid derby next going to be played?

The next Madrid derby will take place on Thursday 8th January 2026. It will be the semi-final of the Spanish Supercopa, with Saudi Arabia again the venue for this season’s competition. The clubs last contested a competitive derby on foreign soil in 2024, when Real won a thrilling Supercopa last-four clash 5-3 after extra time.

January will be a very busy month for both clubs. Real Madrid’s schedule could see them play as many as nine matches in the space of four weeks, including a league encounter with Real Betis just before they fly out to the Middle East. Atletico Madrid start 2026 with a trip to Real Sociedad before heading to Saudi Arabia.

The winners of this derby will face either Barcelona or Athletic Club in the final of the Supercopa on Sunday January 11th.

Latest Madrid derby results

Real Madrid and Atletico Madrid met four times last season, and true to form, there was very little to separate the sides. Both meetings in LaLiga ended 1-1, with Atleti scoring a 95th-minute leveller through Angel Correa in the first clash at the Estadio Metropolitano.

The clubs also locked horns in February in the league, with Kylian Mbappe and Julian Alvarez the scorers on that occasion. That could have been the end of things as far as the Madrid derby was concerned in the 2024/25 season, but the Champions League draw paired the city rivals together in the round-of-16 stage.

While Atleti’s domestic record against their neighbours has been respectable in recent years, European meetings between the clubs, of which there have been several (including two Champions League finals), have always gone the way of Los Blancos.

That was ultimately the case again in 2025, but only after a night of pure tension at the Metropolitano. Trailing 2-1 from the first leg, Atleti immediately levelled the aggregate score with Conor Gallagher netting in the first minute of the return clash.

119 goalless minutes followed before Alvarez’s slip and alleged double-kick contributed to Los Blancos winning the shootout and progressing into the quarter-finals having inflicted yet another dose of European pain on their rivals.

Last meeting: Atletico Madrid 5-2 Real Madrid

Atleti gained some revenge for that painful night in the spring, by thrashing Xabi Alonso’s Real Madrid 5-2 in the first meeting of the 2025/26 season. Los Blancos had won every competitive fixture until that point, so the result came as a surprise, particularly with Diego Simeone’s side in poor form heading into the contest.

Real were second best in just about every aspect at the Estadio Metropolitano. Their rivals went direct at times, with Alexander Sorloth enjoying aerial superiority over a visiting defence that was opened up again and again.

Madrid derby dates – Real vs Atletico 2025/26 fixtures

• Thursday 8th January 2026 – Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid (Supercopa in Saudi Arabia)
• Weekend of 21st/22nd March 2026 – Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid (LaLiga)

The reverse fixture in LaLiga will take place at the Santiago Bernabeu on the weekend of the 21st/22nd March 2026. League derbies are almost without exception played on a Saturday or Sunday, and we’ll find out which of those days it will be nearer the time.

There is the potential for more meetings, with both clubs also competing in the Champions League and Copa del Rey during the 2025/26 season. That means we could see as many as seven derbies were the clubs to again meet in a European knockout tie, and be paired together in a Copa del Rey semi-final, which would be a two-legged affair.

Mark is a freelance football writer based in Madrid, and the editor of LaLigaExpert.com. He has been covering LaLiga and European football since 2014.