Why Real Madrid can still win the Champions League this season

There is no other club you can back to win the Champions League like Real Madrid, but the 2024/2025 edition has been tough for them.

The Whites are dealing with many issues behind the scenes, but their on-field form has constituted most of their fans' worries.

Madrid is trailing Barcelona in the La Liga table, and in the newly introduced Champions League league format, they are 18th out of 36 clubs.

It is a shocking position for the club, considering its pedigree in the competition. Let's also remember that Madrid was one of the main protagonists of the European Super League, which had an identical format.

That competition is now a failed project, but it was a closed shop that Madrid and a few European powerhouses wanted to create.

UEFA won the civil war against them, but their form in the UCL this season suggests that they could have also struggled in the Super League.

Regardless of their form, most football followers will insist Madrid is one of the clear favourites to win the Champions League this term.

We think so, too, but their form so far will not excite most of their supporters about buying Champions League tickets.

They are closer to not making it out of the group phase, and there is a big risk of an embarrassing early exit.

However, Madrid has all it takes to bounce back from their current struggles and end this season in good form.

They are the king of the Champions League.

It is no coincidence that Madrid has won the Champions League 15 times, the most by any club in the world.

The Spaniards have long been considered Champions League royalty and this has been the case because of the number of finals they have won.

They do not seem to lose in the finals whenever they reach that stage of the competition, and we need to trust them.

How does that apply to their current struggles? It is ridiculous to think that every time Madrid reached the final of the Champions League, they began the season well.

Reaching the knockout stage has sometimes been a struggle for them, and that is why we expect them to bounce back and win.

At the moment, Carlo Ancelotti’s players are experiencing many problems, ranging from injuries to key men and finding a solution to ensure that Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe can function properly together.

They are kings not because they always have a good start but because they make the most of their situations and still win the trophy. This is why we expect them to do the same this season.

Knockout stage is where Madrid comes alive

The new league phase is complicated, and some unexpected teams have made progress and stayed closer to the top of the standings.

Liverpool leads at the moment, and the Reds have a good chance of finishing this league phase as leaders; however, that does not determine whether they will be champions.

The business end of the competition is in the knockout phase, where Real Madrid comes alive.

Los Blancos knows its business time; as soon as the competition reaches the knockout phase, it becomes harder to earn a result against them.

Since 2013/2014, Madrid has won the Champions League six times and lost five times in the knockout stage.

Since 2020/2021, they have reached at least the competition's semi-final stage, which confirms that it gets difficult to kick them out when it matters.

Madrid needs to avoid a league phase exit and they would hand themselves a fantastic chance to be champions of Europe again.

Injuries have hampered this start to the season

Madrid's Champions League performance has been affected by injuries to key players this season.

As this story is being written, Madrid has at least three players injured with long-term injuries who will not be back until the start of 2025.

Thibaut Courtois, Rodrygo, Lucas Vazquez, Kylian Mbappe, and Aurelien Tchouameni, among others, have had spells out on the sidelines.

It has inevitably affected their performance in the Champions League and other competitions so far, and that is one reason why fans think they cannot do well in Europe this term.

However, when some of these players return for the second half of the season, we will see a different Madrid team.

They will pick up a fine run of form that could make them unstoppable in the Champions League, leading to another trophy in their cabinet.

Their key men have not yet hit top form

Following his unstoppable performances last season, we all wondered how Jude Bellingham would perform for Madrid this season.

Outstanding performances and beautiful goals characterised the Englishman’s first season at the Bernabeu.

He arrived in Spain after failing to win the Bundesliga at Borussia Dortmund and won the Champions League and La Liga in his first season.

Bellingham has been poor this season. Mbappe, who joined them to break some goalscoring records at the club, has also had a tough start to life in Spain.

This contributes to their poor Champions League form so far, but there is still time, and it is not wise to rule the Whites out just yet.

When these players finally hit their best form in the second half of the term, Madrid can roar back at everyone and win the Champions League for the 16th time.

Most top clubs are also struggling just like them

One big reason not to rule out Madrid from winning the Champions League this season is that most of the big teams in it are struggling.

Liverpool has held its own and is proving that it has a manager who wants to maintain the highest standards at all times.

However, Manchester City, PSG, and Bayern Munich are struggling just like Real Madrid.

This new format has been difficult for them. PSG is currently 25th in the standings, while Bayern Munich, Arsenal, and Manchester City are all outside the top eight after four matches.

Any of these clubs could still end the term as Champions League winners, so their early struggles should not make anyone rule them out.

Madrid is a team that thrives on obstacles, and in the coming weeks, we could see them reignite their campaign in all competitions until its end.

Conclusion

Fans who buy Real Madrid tickets have all become used to seeing them win the Champions League as if it is a birthright.

They have not made the best of starts this season, but there is more than enough time for them to turn their season around, and we are backing them to do just that.