Real Madrid were all smiles on Monday morning as they hit the training ground ahead of their Champions League semi final meeting with Atletico Madrid this week.

For the fourth season in a row Spain's biggest city rivals meet in European competition, but this time at the semi final stage.

Diego Simeone's side will be hoping to make it fourth time lucky having tasted defeat in each of the three previous ties.

The Madrid giants have met in two of the last three Champions League finals, and also at the quarter final stage two years ago.

A penalty shootout win in Milan last May saw Real secure their 11th European Cup, and they are aiming to break that record further in Cardiff next month.

Zinedine Zidane's side fought off a resilient Bayern Munich in a bruising quarter final tie last month, with Cristiano Ronaldo scoring five goals across two legs to seal a 6-3 aggregate triumph.

And the Portugal star looked in a particularly good mood at Real Madrid's training ground, celebrating wildly at one point with his team mates and grinning ecstatically.

After notching his 100th Champions League in the process of eliminating Bayern, Zidane will hope his No 7 is on form when the notoriously hard-to-beat Atletico roll into the Bernabeu on Tuesday night.

Real will almost certainly be without Gareth Bale, the hero of victory over Simeone's side in Lisbon three years ago, after he suffered a calf injury in El Clasico defeat by Barcelona eight days ago.