Following their victory over Chelsea, Real Madrid will contest their eleventh Champions League semi-final in the last 13 editions. Since 2010, Real Madrid have only missed out on the penultimate round of the competition twice: in 2018-19, losing to Ajax, and in 2019-20, against Manchester City, both in the last 16.
In five of the other 10 they were eliminated and in the other five they reached the final and won it. The first duel in this series was against Guardiola's Barça. Mourinho's team succumbed at the Bernabeu with a brace from Leo Messi and could only manage a 1-1 draw at the Camp Nou.
A year later, it was Bayern who knocked them out on penalties, after a 2-1 first leg and second leg. Los Blancos would suffer a third elimination the following year at the hands of Borussia Dortmund. The Germans made the 4-1 first leg advantage count, with Robert Lewandowski scoring the winner.
Real Madrid broke the streak under Ancelotti to win the tenth title in the 2013-14 campaign. In the semi-finals they saw off Guardiola's Bayern with a double victory. The following season they again fell by the wayside, losing to Juventus.
With Zidane on the bench, Real Madrid made it three titles in a row. The 2015-16 season saw them see off Manchester City, drawing 0-0 at the Ethiad and winning 1-0 at home. A year later, their victim was Atlético Madrid: 3-0 at the Bernabéu and 1-2 at the Vicente Calderón. And the following season, they eliminated Bayern Munich: 1-2 in the first leg and a controversial 2-2 draw in the second leg.
Three seasons ago, Chelsea demolished Real Madrid, drawing 1-1 at the Bernabeu and winning at Stamford Bridge with goals from Werner and Mount. Last year, Real Madrid pulled off a miraculous qualification against City. The English side won the first leg 4-3 and went into stoppage time at the Bernabeu leading 1-0 with a goal from Gündogan, but then Rodrygo emerged to force extra time with a brace in the space of a minute. Benzema sealed the win in extra time with a penalty.
Throughout history, Madrid have played in 32 semi-finals in 68 editions of Europe's top competition. In 15 they were eliminated and in 17 they reached the final.
A RECORD AND THE LAST HURDLE
The figure takes on special relevance if Madrid's record is compared with those of other European giants. Only six teams have played in more Champions League semi-finals in all-time history than Real Madrid in the last 13 seasons. They are Bayern Munich (20), FC Barcelona (16), AC Milan (14), Juventus (12), Manchester United (12) and Liverpool (12).
Before reaching the final in Istanbul, they will have to overcome Guardiola's City. It will be the fifth tie between Los Blancos and the Catalan coach: he won with Barça in the semi-finals in 2011 and in the last 16 in 2020 with Manchester United. However, he lost in the 2014 and 2020 semi-finals with Bayern and England respectively.