Real Madrid's history march goes on as they match Juventus and pursue Bayern

Chris Burton

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Real Madrid's history march goes on as they match Juventus and pursue Bayern image

Real Madrid’s remarkable efforts in Champions League competition have seen them enhance their record-breaking achievements among the European elite.

Already the first side to have successfully defended the title in its current format, the Blancos are now chasing down a hat-trick of triumphs.

Zinedine Zidane’s side have dominated the continental scene in recent years, with no rival able to halt their relentless march to more major silverware.

Arch-rivals Atletico Madrid were seen off in dramatic fashion in the 2016 final, before Juventus were crushed in Cardiff a year later.

Real are now through to a third successive final, with a 2-2 draw at home to Bayern Munich on Tuesday enough to see them prevail 4-3 on aggregate.

Juve were the last side to enjoy such a sequence of success between 1996 and 1998.

Marcello Lippi led the Turin giants to three European showpieces, but they only emerged victorious in one of those contests – in 1996.

Zidane has now matched Lippi’s achievement, while furthering his own stunning record in the knockout stages of the Champions League.

The Frenchman is yet to be dumped out of the competition as Blancos boss, having gone all the way in each of his three seasons at the helm.

With Real now chasing down a third crown in as many years, they could emulate the achievements of Bayern’s legendary side of the 1970s which tasted three successive European Cup triumphs in 1974, 1975 and 1976.

The Blancos have also pulled further clear of the chasing pack when it comes to final outings, with that stage reached for a 16th time.

AC Milan sit second on that list with 11 final appearances to their name, with Liverpool – who face Roma in the other semi-final – looking to make an eighth and match the record of Real’s Clasico rivals Barcelona.

Chris Burton