Los Blancos have always boasted some of the best players in the world, but its their never-say-die spirit which so often proves decisive in Europe
There's an air of entitlement about Florentino Perez's Real Madrid that rubs a lot of people up the wrong way. But there's simply no denying the efficacy of that sense of superiority.
Players come and go at Santiago Bernabeu, but one thing never changes: the belief that the European Cup belongs to Madrid and that no matter the circumstances, they will always find a way to win. The net result is a self-perpetuating cycle of success, with Real repeatedly proving themselves the best team in the Champions League often because they simply believe themselves to be.
Time and time again, Madrid have ended up staring defeat in the face and, time and time again, they've somehow managed to emerge victorious by leaning on a never-say-die spirit that borders on arrogance yet demands respect.
Below, GOAL counts down the most remarkable fightbacks we've seen from the undisputed kings of European football since the turn of the century…
AFP10Real Madrid 1-3 Juventus (2018)
In this instance, it looked like Juventus were going to pull off one of the greatest comebacks in Champions League history. The Bianconeri had been beaten 3-0 at home in the first leg of their quarter-final clash with Madrid, but came storming back at the Bernabeu, levelling the tie on aggregate thanks to a first-half double from Mario Mandzukic and Blaise Matuidi's second-half strike.
Real were reeling, and Zinedine Zidane's men looked exhausted with extra-time beckoning. All of the momentum appeared to be with Juve. However, in the seventh minute of injury time, referee Michael Oliver awarded Madrid a penalty for Medhi Benatia's clumsy challenge on Lucas Vazquez. Juve were furious, particularly Gigi Buffon, with the goalkeeper sent off for insulting Oliver, whom he also later accused of "having a dustbin where his heart should be".
Madrid obviously didn't care about the controversy (they never do!). Cristiano Ronaldo converted the spot-kick and Real went on to win the second of three consecutive Champions League titles.
AdvertisementAFP9Real Madrid 4-2 Bayern Munich (2017)
Madrid looked to have taken care of the hard part of their quarter-final tie with Bayern Munich by coming from behind to beat the Bavarians 2-1 at in the first leg at the Allianz Arena. However, they found themselves in all sorts of trouble at the Bernabeu and needed a big helping hand from the officials to get them out of it.
Although Ronaldo had cancelled out Robert Lewandowski's opener from the penalty spot, Bayern went back in front – and levelled the tie on aggregate – thanks to an own goal from Sergio Ramos. With six minutes of normal time remaining, though, the visitors' Chilean midfielder Arturo Vidal was ludicrously given a second yellow card by referee Viktor Kassai for the cleanest of challenges on Marco Asensio.
Even after being reduced to 10 men, it appeared as if a brave Bayern side might force penalties – but, in the 115th minute, the officials made another massive mistake by failing to spot that Ronaldo was in an offside position when he put Madrid back in front on aggregate.
With Bavarians' resistance finally broken, Madrid added two further goals, with Ronaldo completing his hat-trick and Asensio sealing a 4-2 win on the night. Unsurprisingly, Bayern boss Carlo Ancelotti was enraged by the fact that the game had effectively been decided by two incorrect calls.
"In a quarter-final you have to put a better referee," the Italian said, "or it is the moment to introduce video refereeing, which is what UEFA are trying, because there are too many errors."
Getty Images Sport8Liverpool 2-5 Real Madrid (2023)
After two heart-breaking final losses in the previous five years, Liverpool were desperately hoping to exact a modicum of revenge on Real Madrid going into their last-16 showdown in 2023 – and things looked good for the Reds early on in the first leg.
Jurgen Klopp's men tore into Los Blancos from the very first whistle, and Darwin Nunez broke the deadlock just four minutes in with a brilliant back-heel finish before Mohamed Salah took advantage of an error from Thibaut Courtois to make it 2-0 to the hosts inside the opening quarter.
Most teams would have buckled in such a scenario at Anfield – but Madrid are not most teams and they were level by the break thanks to Vinicius Jr, who was electrifying on the night. Eder Militao then edged Real in front shortly after half-time before Karim Benzema netted twice to pile even more misery on Liverpool, and make the second leg a formality thanks to a stunning display of firepower.
"After those first 15 minutes we saw the true Real Madrid," French forward Benzema said afterwards. "Football at this level is hard and they started better than us – but this was a big game and we were ready."
Getty7Manchester City 2-3 Real Madrid (2025)
It says everything about Real's renowned resilience that at no point during the first leg of their last-16 clash with the once-mighty Manchester City did it look like they'd lose – not even when they found themselves 2-1 down with 10 minutes to play after Erling Haaland had slotted home a penalty.
Madrid had played with real menace all evening and didn't really deserve to be behind, while City never appeared entirely sure of themselves. In that sense, the late drama was inevitable.
The hosts unquestionably made unforgivable errors, with Ederson particularly culpable, but they still had to be exploited, and Madrid did that ruthlessly. Ancelotti also played a pivotal role once again, with Brahim Diaz equalising less than two minutes after coming on for Rodrygo.
A draw would have been a decent result for Real, but they weren't done yet, with Jude Bellingham tapping home after Vinicius Jr had taken advantage of more sloppy play from City. The home fans had unveiled a banner before the game mocking the Brazilian over his Ballon d'Or tantrum, but he was the one smiling at the full-time whistle.
"When opposition fans do things it always gives me more strength to play a great game and here I did that," the winger said. "City know our history and everything we've done in this competition."
