League phase: W5 D0 L3 F21 A12 (9th place)
Knockout phase play-off: 3-1agg vs Benfica
Top Fantasy Football points scorer: Kylian Mbappé (82)
UEFA coefficient ranking: 1
Last season: Quarter-finals (L1-5agg vs Arsenal)
Best European Cup performance: Winners (1955/56, 1956/57, 1957/58, 1958/59, 1959/60, 1965/66, 1997/98, 1999/2000, 2001/02, 2013/14, 2015/16, 2016/17, 2017/18, 2021/22, 2023/24)
UEFA’s Real Madrid reporter, Graham Hunter: Closely reflecting their domestic form, this has been a campaign of ups and downs for Los Blancos. They’ve had to cope with a string of repetitive injuries to key players. On occasions, they’ve shrugged that off; other times, it has been a key factor in their performance level. Defeat at Liverpool was unquestionably the low point, while any victory over Juventus is sweet, but the match that epitomises their campaign was the 4-3 success at Olympiacos. Kylian Mbappé scored four goals and Madrid often looked imperious but, by the end, they were defending a slender lead in a seven-goal thriller.
Coach: Álvaro Arbeloa
Madrid announced Arbeloa as Xabi Alonso’s replacement on 12 January. A decorated full-back who made 238 appearances for the club as a player, he also played in a Champions League final for Liverpool in 2007. Arbeloa had been in charge of Madrid’s B team since June 2025, having spent his entire coaching career since 2020 in the club’s youth academy.
Key player: Kylian Mbappé
After a first season of adaptation – which still yielded an impressive 44 goals across all competitions, seven in the Champions League – Mbappé has taken it up a level this year and is leading from the front. The 27-year-old’s style and goals make him the standout man in an already star-studded line-up and he will hope to add to his vast trophy haul from Paris, which comes embellished with World Cup and Nations League medals with France.
Did you know?
On Matchday 5, Kylian Mbappé scored the second fastest hat-trick in Champions League history, grabbing three goals at Olympiacos in six minutes and 42 seconds. Mbappé’s feat has only been bettered by Mohamed Salah, whose treble for Liverpool against Rangers in 2022 was timed at six minutes and 12 seconds.
