Real Madrid are on the brink of ending the current season without a trophy, having come close to being knocked out of the Champions League quarter-finals.
Bayern Munich won 2-1 at Real Madrid’s home ground, the Santiago Bernabéu, on Tuesday evening, taking a significant step towards qualifying for the Champions League semi-finals.
The second leg is scheduled to take place at the Allianz Arena next Wednesday, to determine who will qualify for the Champions League semi-finals and face the winner of the Paris Saint-Germain v Liverpool tie.
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The Spanish newspaperMarca reported that Real Madrid are heading for a trophy-less season, something that has not happened since the 2020-2021 season.
It added that the 2025-2026 season could go down as a dark chapter in Real Madrid’s history, as the team has not finished a season without a trophy since the 2020-2021 campaign, Zinedine Zidane’s second season as manager.
In that season, which was overshadowed by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic, Real Madrid finished as runners-up in La Liga (after Atlético Madrid won the title) and reached the semi-finals of the Champions League, where they were knocked out by Chelsea.
Their performance in other cup competitions was disappointing: a defeat in the semi-finals of the Spanish Super Cup against Athletic Bilbao, and an exit from the first round of the Copa del Rey at the hands of Alcoyano.
On the other hand, Real Madrid sit second in the La Liga table this season, seven points behind leaders Barcelona; they also lost the Spanish Super Cup final to their Catalan rivals, whilst they were knocked out of the cup at the quarter-final stage by Albacete.
Real Madrid’s last hope is to overcome hosts Bayern Munich at the Allianz Arena and continue their journey in the Champions League.
However, should Real Madrid lose in Germany and be knocked out of European competition, the 2025–26 season will follow on from an equally disappointing 2024–25 campaign in terms of trophies—a year in which Real Madrid competed in just seven competitions, winning only the UEFA Super Cup and the FIFA Club World Cup, which ultimately led to Carlo Ancelotti’s departure as Real Madrid manager.