Today marks the 40th anniversary of one of the greatest nights in Derby County’s history.

On 22nd October 1975, Derby thrashed Spanish giants Real Madrid 4-1 at the Baseball Ground in a Second Round First Leg European Cup tie.


34,839 supporters packed into the Rams’ old home to see Charlie George bag a memorable hat-trick - two of which were penalties - while David Nish also got in on the act.


George opened the scoring with a fine first-time finish before adding a second from the penalty spot.


Madrid pulled a goal back through Pirri but Nish’s long-range strike had Derby 3-1 up at the break.


George then rounded off the scoring, again from the spot, in the second half to complete his hat-trick.


However, the victory wasn’t enough to see Derby into the next round as a 5-1 defeat at the Bernabeu in the return fixture saw Dave Mackay’s side knocked out.


The gate of 120,000 is the largest record attendance to ever watch in a first-team Derby County match.


An exclusive interview with Charlie George, plus highlights from the game, will be available on Rams Player HD later today.