Analysis: What are the odds for the Champions to defend their title without Cristiano Ronaldo?

2015-16: The Wolfsburg conundrum and the lady luck

Cristiano Ronaldo after scoring against Wolfsburg in the UEFA Champions League Quarter Final: Second Leg in 2015-16

Real Madrid failed to defend their crown as was the norm in the competition after a heartbreak in the hands of Juventus in the semifinals of the 2014-15 season. However, Los Blancos' hunger to win the competition was more than ever and they demonstrated it by trashing Shakhtar in the curtain-raiser in the 2015-16 campaign.

They continued with the same goalscoring tenacity as shown in the previous campaigns. Real scored 19 times in the group stages of the event out of which 11 were scored by Ronaldo.

Cristiano found the back of the net across both legs and eased the nerves in the Madrid dugout in the round of 16 against Roma which they won 4-0 on aggregate.

Los Bancos were staring at a shock exit after conceding twice at Wolfsburg in the away fixture in the quarterfinals. However, a commanding Cristiano hat-trick took Madrid to the semifinal with a 3-2 victory on aggregate.

The lady luck smiled on Real Madrid when a deflected Gareth Bale attempt in the second leg at Santiago Bernabeu, counted as own goal by Fernando, was sufficient to see off Manchester City in the semifinal.

In the all Madrid final, a Sergio Ramos opener in the first half was cancelled by Carrasco of Atletico Madrid late in the second half. Real Madrid went on to win the trophy on penalties with Ronaldo taking the last and the decisive one.

Real Madrid had scored 28 times in the campaign out of which CR7 had 16 strikes to his name.