Real Madrid’s ‘Champions League DNA’ goes a long way back.
On November 5th, 1975, Real Madrid welcomed Derby County to Estadio Santiago Bernabeu for the second leg of the round-of-16 of the European Cup. They were down 4 – 1 on aggregate after losing away from home.
The Bernabeu was raucous in anticipation of a historic comeback, and every little victory on the pitch was celebrated with thunder in the stands. It helped that the first goal of the game came in the third minute thanks to Roberto Martinez, which was followed by chance-after-chance to double the lead to no avail for the rest of the first half.
In the second half, several Real Madrid legends stepped up and put their foot on the pedal. Martinez scored again to make it 2 – 0. Then, maestro Gunter Netzer lofted in a free kick which Santillana scored from.
While Derby County restored their aggregate lead by scoring to make it 3 – 1, Amancio was fouled in the box and Pirri converted a penalty. At 4 – 1, the game headed into extra-time where Santilla scored Real Madrid’s fifth in the 99th minute.
Real Madrid advanced to the quarter-finals 6 – 5 on aggregate.