For some clubs, winning the Champions League even once is a lofty goal. We have seen the likes of Manchester City and PSG, who have invested so heavily into their team in recent years, fail to get past that final huddle and lift the cup with the big ears. On the other hand, there are Real Madrid, who have managed to win the biggest competition in European football five times out of the last nine.
This time around, Real Madrid have to be considered as one of the favourites once again. They topped their group as expected but have been handed a tough draw in the last 16, when they will face Liverpool, a repeat of last season’s final.
Many consider Manchester City as the outright favourites to end their Champions League hoodoo and win the competition this season. They were already dominating the Premier League before this and have now added an unstoppable goalscoring machine in Erling Haaland to the mix.
Pep Guardiola though, continues to put Real Madrid on a pedestal, when it comes to the Champions League. While speaking with Rio Ferdinand on BT Sport, the Manchester City boss said:
"“We are going to lose competitions. Of course. Except Real Madrid win all the time the Champions League. The rest of the teams, you don’t do it.”"
Guardiola makes incredible Real Madrid claim when it comes to the Champions League
Real Madrid did go on a bit of a barren run in the Champions League themselves. Before delivering La Decima in 2014. Since then, they have been pretty much unstoppable in Europe’s elite competition.
Carlo Ancelotti has won the Champions League with the club in both his stints there. While Zinedine Zidane created history by managing Los Blancos to three straight triumphs. Before that, nobody had ever even retained the title.
The biggest roadblock to Real Madrid repeating this time around could be their lack of squad depth. We have already seen injuries and fatigue take its toll on this squad, which resulted in their recent bad run of form.