MANCHESTER CITY’S defeat to Real Madrid means they are the fourth English team who have failed to defend their Champions League crown.
City won the competition for the first time in their history last year but suffered penalty shoot-out heartbreak against 14-time winners Real on Wednesday.
The result means they have failed to defend their Champions League title – a curse that has affected every team except for Real Madrid.
Incredibly, the Spanish giants won the tournament three years on the bounce between 2016-18 with a team featuring the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Sergio Ramos and Karim Benzema.
No team has been able to repeat the trick, with City failing despite being favourites.
They have good company, however, including in England where Liverpool failed to back up their Champions League successes in 2005 and 2019 with another trophy.
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The Reds suffered surprise exists to Benfica in 2006 and Atletico Madrid in 2020, though did make the final again in 2007 and 2022.
While Manchester United could not repeat their 2008 triumph a year later, losing to Barcelona in the final the following season.
Chelsea also proved inadequate when it came to defending their European crowns after tasting success in 2013 and 2021.
While the likes of Barcelona, Bayern Munich and AC Milan have also experienced the curse despite winning the Champions League multiple times since it changed format in 1992.
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Real Madrid are now favourites to claim the Big Ears trophy for a 15th time, though face Harry Kane and Bayern Munich for a place at Wembley.
If they make it through that tie they will meet Paris Saint-Germain or Borussia Dortmund in the final.
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
