Falcao played his first Madrid Derby against Real Madrid on 11 April 2012. He had missed the first match at the Santiago Bernabéu Stadium due to injury, and scored Atlético's only goal as his side fell 4–1 due to a hat trick by Cristiano Ronaldo. Four days later, he scored his 30th goal of the season in all competitions against Rayo Vallecano in a crucial 1–0 victory for Atlético. In the first leg of the 2011–12 Europa League semi-finals against Valencia, Falcao scored a double in a 4–2 victory while making Atlético the first team to win ten consecutive matches in a single Europa League season. Falcao added to his Europa League tally in the final against fellow La Liga side Athletic Bilbao, netting Atlético's opening two goals in a 3–0 triumph at the Arena Națională in Bucharest on 9 May 2012. In so doing, Falcao not only became the top goal scorer in a Europa league season again, with 12 goals, but became the first player in history to win two consecutive Europa League titles with two different teams. Four days after the final, Falcao scored the only goal late into a match against Villarreal to give his team a victory in the last game of the season. After his outstanding debut season with the club, his purchase was called the "best purchase of the 21st century".