The new season started with the inaugural Intercontinental Cup and the 0–0 draw in the first leg of the final against Peñarol in Montevideo on 4 July. But in the second leg, Real beat the Uruguayans by 5–0 with Di Stéfano scoring one goal on 4 September 1960. On 13 December 1960, Di Stéfano came fourth on the 1960 Ballon d'Or voting, and for the first time, Real were knocked out of the 1960-61 Champions Cup, 4–3 against Barcelona after a controversial return match. Real easily won the 1961 title by a great margin to runners-up Atlético Madrid, but lost the final of the Generalísimo Cup again to Rojiblancos 3–2. Di Stéfano finished the season with 21 goals, second-highest scorer in the league behind Puskás who netted 28 goals.