The penultimate day for Real Madrid so far this season has arrived. As the league was supposedly lost a long time ago, fans focused on the Champions League and hoped that maybe, just maybe they could cough up their best in Europe’s elite competition and go all the way.
Now, with Barca losing two games in a row in the league, Real Madrid are back in contention as they are just four points adrift with six games to play. However, as they find some ray of hope in La Liga, a bit of darkness has shrouded them in the Champions League.
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It seems as though the Madridistas can’t be happy for a long period of time. While still celebrating their Clasico win, they had to taste defeat at the hands of Wolfsburg after a shock 2-0 loss in Germany. Not even Wolfsburg players expected such a result, but such is fate.
However, not all is lost yet. Real Madrid could still win the tie and head to the semi-final—fun fact: Real have only been knocked out once in the three times they were trailing by two goals after the first leg—and a fully functioning team would suffice to make that happen.
Before the match begins, here are 5 instances of what happened when Real Madrid were trailing after the first leg of a knock-out in the Champions League
2006 against Arsenal
This was, like most Real Madrid failures, during their poor period in the Champions League. And this was one those ties where fate, more than anything else, became the biggest force to deny Real Madrid.
Playing the first leg at the Bernabeu, Thierry Henry scored the only goal of the game and Arsenal got the all-important away goal that every visiting team craves more than anything.
In the second leg at Highbury, Real Madrid had numerous opportunities to make a comeback. Within the second minute itself, Ronaldo had a chance to score but was denied by Jens Lehmann. On the hour mark, Real Madrid legend Raul found his brilliant first-time shot hit the post. At that point, Real Madrid fans knew what to expect.
Thierry Henry kept running riot but was denied by a fantastic Iker Casillas. In the dying moments of the game, Robinho’s shot was well saved by Jens Lehmann and Arsenal, despite the odds stacked against them, reached the next round of the competition.
First leg score: Real Madrid 0-1 Arsenal
Aggregate score: Real Madrid 0-1 Arsenal
2010 against Lyon
Remember the time when Lyon were Madrid’s kryptonite? It might seem absurd now, but the French side used to be the Galacticos’ biggest headache in Europe’s premier competition.
And the root cause for the Madrid club’s suffering was Hugo Lloris.
The current Spurs goalkeeper formed a one-man wall against Real Madrid whenever he played against them and has the chance to face his old nemesis once again if Tottenham are tied against the Blancos next season.
But let’s leave that talk for another day.
As Real Madrid took on Lyon at the latter’s home ground, many fans thought the team consisting of newly signed star players, Cristiano Ronaldo and co. would break the curse. However, Jean Makoun scored the only goal of the game and gave Lyon the lead heading into the second leg.
1-0 isn’t a big margin and the Spanish club had all it took to win the tie. And it seemed like that was what would happen when a lobbed Guti pass was sent through the legs of Lloris by Cristiano Ronaldo.
It was the only time they could beat Hugo Lloris as the goalkeeper saved multiple shots of Real Madrid players that would have ended up in the net had it not been for his skills.
Miralem Pjanic restored the lead with just 16 minutes to play—and that was the last nail struck on Real Madrid’s coffin.
First leg score: Lyon 1-0 Real Madrid
Aggregate score: Lyon 2-1 Real Madrid
2013 against Borussia Dortmund
This was one of the most memorable matches of Real Madrid in a while. In the end, a Real Madrid win would have made this one of the greatest ever comebacks by a team, but it wasn’t to be.
Dortmund took an astonishing 4-1 lead from the first leg. The German side were just ruthless and the tie was lost in the hearts of many Real Madrid fans. However, Los Blancos didn’t give up and kept on fighting.
The second leg seemed like a regular affair with Dortmund trying to shut the Merengues out. And it was working. For 82 minutes, Dortmund guarded the goal with relative ease until Karim Benzema was subbed in. In the 83rd minute, Karim Benzema, from nowhere and against the run of play, scored the first goal of the second leg.
That seemed to fire up the team as five minutes later, Sergio Ramos, playing as an emergency striker at that point, slotted him from a Benzema cut-back. Dortmund were slipping, Sven Bender knew it all too well and hence exaggerated contact by going on the ground and wasting some minutes so that Real lose the flow.
And that was what happened ultimately as Real Madrid couldn’t get the third goal and progress to the final.
First leg score: Borussia Dortmund 4-1 Real Madrid
Aggregate score: Borussia Dortmund 4-3 Real Madrid
2012 against Bayern Munich
This was by far the most painful loss for a Real Madrid fan in recent history. After losing the first leg against Bayern at the Allianz Arena 2-1, Madrid fans were hopeful because of the away goal that the club scored.
And the second leg started off in the deadliest of fashions. Within 14 minutes, Real Madrid were leading 2-0 thanks to a Cristiano Ronaldo brace. Up until that point, the Blancos were playing relentlessly and Bayern knew not what to do.
However, Mourinho decided to take the steam off and play cautiously, a move that ultimately became Madrid’s downfall in that game.
Arjen Robben scored from the spot to make it 2-1 in the 27th minute and from then on it was something of a drab game that went to the extra-time and then shoot-outs. And it was a heartbreak for Madridistas. Mourinho sunk his knees in the ground, hoping that God would recognise his submission, but it wasn’t to be.
In the end, Bayern Munich won the penalty shoot-out 3-1.
First leg score: Bayern Munich 2-1 Real Madrid
Aggregate score: Bayern Munich 3-3 Real Madrid (Bayern won 3-1 via penalty shoot-out)
2002 against Bayern Munich
So far, all the aforementioned ties had Real Madrid losing in them. However, it is not all gloomy for the capital club as they have indeed won a tie where they trailed after the first leg.
The only time it happened in the Champions League era was against Bayern in 2002. The Bavarians won the first leg 2-1 at the Allianz Arena, but the Spaniards had the away goal while trailing by only one.
At the Bernabeu, it was one hell of a tightly contested affair. The fans at the Bernabeu threw stuff onto the pitch in frustration to their team’s lack of goals in the first half. Tempers flared as both sets of players were having a go at each other; after all, it was a clash between the reigning champions and the best club of the 20th century.
In the end, Ivan Helguera broke the deadlock before Guti clinched the winner five minutes from full-time. What was a sour environment at the capital turned to fits of joyous bouts as Madrid beat the then defending champions.
Madrid went on to win the tournament that year and Madridistas right now would hope that they repeat history again by beating a German team after trailing the first leg.
First leg score: Bayern Munich 2-1 Real Madrid
Aggregate score: Bayern Munich 2-3 Real Madrid
