Route to the final: How Real Madrid got to facing Juventus attempting to make Champions League history
They can become the first team to win back-to-back Champions Leagues
Real Madrid are little over 24 hours away from their third Champions League final in four seasons with the opportunity to become the first team to successfully defend the trophy since it was rebranded from the European Cup.
Standing in their way at the National Stadium of Wales (renamed from the Principality Stadium for the final) in Cardiff is Juventus, who have not won the competition for 21 years.
Starting their campaign with a Cristiano Ronaldo goal against his first club Sporting Lisbon, Real struggled in the Group Stages and only managed to win three of their six games before sweeping aside Napoli in the Round of 16.
Then it became the Ronaldo show as, despite only scoring twice in the eight games leading up to the quarter-finals, he stunned Bayern Munich with a brace in the first leg before a perfect hat-trick in the second.
He followed that dominant performance up with a second treble in two games, this time against Atletico Madrid, to all but put Real into the final.
Now all that stands in their way between making history is the stern Juventus defence, led by Gianluigi Buffon.
Scroll through the gallery at the top of the page to see exactly how Real Madrid plotted their route to Cardiff this season.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies
Comments