So, Real Madrid has now made it three consecutive years in a row.

I don't know if that has ever been done before in the Champions League era. I know that Real Madrid is the only team to have won two back to back titles though.

Yet, after the game in which I nearly stopped breathing, I go on to check the news:

I'm thinking now there will be reports of fantastic defending by Real Madrid, not what they are known for. Navas will be called a GOAT. Bayern will, forever be, in Reals shadow.. going back to that league without any competition whatsoever.

But what do I find, just reading titles?

"Real Madrid was too lucky, and Bayern did everything right."

"Bayern was better, but this competition is special to Real Madrid"

And so on.. so on.. as we were before the tie - so are we after.

I personally don't need the media to know about Real's greatness. It's just.. so obvious that there's a certain feeling out there that the media gives off.. no matter what Real does, they will never be considered the best. That crown is reserved for their special darlings, Barca and Bayern.

And Real Madrid have only won the league once in 6 years..

Without a doubt the greatest team in the CL though.

And why was James even subbed? I felt that after the goal he was fired up and hungry for more.

I think he was tired af he couldn't run anymore. Shame, I hoped he could be there whole game, I don't see reason why he wasn't pushed on right side more to allow Muller space in the middle. But well, it's over now.

Whole shame it had to end like this, but as only Bayern fan in the whole forum I can say I'm proud of the fight everyone gave. People shitting on Lewa, Muller, Ulreich and others need to chill. Yeah, Lewa didn't score, Muller didn't play his best and Ulreich gave a goal, but it was just that we couldn't finish.

I want Mandžukić back so much ;( Wagner deserved more playtime.

And Real Madrid have only won the league once in 6 years..

Which was last season, right in the middle of their European domination. Along with the league and Champions league they also won club world cup + European supercup + Spanish supercup...

However you want to put it in case they win 3 Champions League titles in a row it puts that generation among the best in football history, it is in this generation that they have the best scorer and top assist player in Champions league history that is also their own top scorer in their long history, Cristiano Ronaldo.

33 league titles and 12 European Cup titles, even if they "suffer" from not winning the league in the recent years nobody is coming close to their history, Barcelona even with the majority of the best spanish generation ever in the past 10-12 years + Ronaldinho,Messi,Neymar can't come close to Real Madrid's titles.

@Amerr Its ain't so bad, you act like half of the people on this thread said it wasn't deserved but we all mostly did. Saying stuff like the keeper for Bayern let the ball rather easily doesn't mean Marcus doesn't think Real deserved the win, he was saying it out loud like he often did before.

But yeah, you are right that Real also gave out goal rather easily trough Navas. However, I would like to remind you something you said to me: "When you are at Real Madrid, you're the best there is, thats not arrogance, thats a fact". So either Navas is the best and you can't complain about those slip-up since being the best gk he is, no other keeper could have done a better job or your statement wasn't 100% true. Don't get me wrong, I'm ready to agree some Real Madrid are propably the best at their position, like Ronaldo, Kroos, Ramos and Marcelo for example, but for some other, I'm far from convinced.

But yeah, this Real Madrid might not be the best team in La Liga this season or in recent years but they definetly are the best team in CL since the last 4 or 5 season, there isn't a single doubt about it for me.

@Golazo If we're talking about history and title they won overall, can we agree that Real start with an advance compared to other team? Personally, I rather compare the current Real where they won title with their current team, not with player that aren't even alive anymore. Beside, Real don't need to use the great history excuse to prove they are superior, they won enough CL title to convince people of that in the last 5 year. :) The title they won before this generation is a nice plus but when they won it, they had much less competition to deal with for it.

As for what Pupper said, I disagree with him, I think most team rather fail to win their domestic league but manage to win the CL as this is the trophy that people are internationally more excited about.

Great teams are not judged by their domestic success as much as their international success. No one cares about Juventus' 6-7 year grip on Serie A, or Bayern's 5-6 year grip on the Bundesliga. The fact of the matter is that these two teams have only combined for one Champions League title from 2011-2018. That's ultimately the reason no one will remember them as a "generational" team, outside of perhaps the 2013 Bayern team that iconically crushed Barcelona.

It's the same reason we don't recall the Valencia side of the earlly 00's or the Juventus side of the 00's (both of whom reached CL finals and performed well in the league), but we do remember Ancelotti's Milan team that had won the CL in 2003 and 2007, and also reached the final in 2005, as a generational team (even though they weren't known as a league team).

The CL is where you mark your legacy because it's against the toughest teams in the world. Barcelona's recent domestic success looks tame compared to Madrid's recent continental success. Barca will be more fondly remembered for their run from 2009-2011. It's a shame because their treble in 2015 will likely be overshadowed by Madrid's finals appearances in 2014 and 2016-18, especially if Madrid end up winning again.

But we'll see. I hope Roma can make a comeback because I'm not looking forward to seeing Salah go at Marcelo's flank without Marcelo getting any support from a winger. I think Liverpool would be a tough matchup, but I'm still banking on Madrid being favorites. We just have to make sure we cover Salah and Mane on the wings when they make their runs.

they also won club world cup + European supercup + Spanish supercup...

Literally 3 trophies with no prestige whatsoever.

33 league titles and 12 European Cup titles, even if they "suffer" from not winning the league in the recent years nobody is coming close to their history

Not sure why you suddenly start to bring up their titles + history. Real Madrid are the greatest club in history. That's just old news and noone is really questioning that.

But I just don't agree that this RM team is undisputedly the best team ever, when they aren't even the "best" team in Spain.

This Real side are obviously one of the best teams throughout the history (along with Pep's Barca, Heynckes' Bayern etc), but they really lack the consistency to be the greatest team ever imo. They haven't even won the treble, and it has been 5 years since they won the spanish cup.

@dynastian you have to give exception to epl though. it's not like city, man utd and liverpool can decide to dominate the league as it goes to plan season after season. winning the premier league is more challenging than winning serie a, bundesliga or la liga. yes, it's true that bayern, madrid or barca's season will always be judged on ucl performance.

zlatan said it before he won't trade any of his league titles with ucl because it's the continuity that matters. well, I give credit to real madrid for back to back ucl and potentially third, but so does to barcelona for copa and la liga for even trying to compete with madrid. however, if you want to judge it to legendary teams with the likes of r10, r9, zidane, kaka, shevchenko, crespo, adriano, del piero and many more, you can't. the quality of ucl today is not the same as it is when teams like milan and inter and man utd are giving other teams a tough time too, even ajax is a big club before. I am not trying to discredit current's madrid squad, but let legends and this generation remain a separate issue.

every dynasty team has domination that will surely goes into the history books, but let's just enjoy the moment.
@emo, every team has a rise and downfall, only time will tell.

Literally 3 trophies with no prestige whatsoever.

Not true at all.

But I just don't agree that this RM team is undisputedly the best team ever, when they aren't even the "best" team in Spain.

Last season they were the best club in Spain, historically they are the best club in Spain,they play at best 6 hard games in the league, most big teams boost stats in the league against most teams that are inferior just look at Messi's stats he was invisible vs Roma but scored 3 goals against a team that going to the second league just a week after and like I said it's much harder to win a Champions League title compared to a league title, when Chelsea won Champions league it was all about being Champions of Europe nobody cared about the league, so imagine now winning it 3 times in a row! Well soon maybe we wouldn't need to imagine, just like last year we stopped imagining that it's impossible to defend that title.

Pupper: How ridiculous is it that you are here talking about Real Madrid lacking lacking some consistency criteria to be considered one of the greatest team while all you really need to do is look at the 'reason' that we are having this discussion in the first place to blow that notion right out of the water. This team has just qualified for a third straight Champions League final. Won the last two.

The problem is, you think not winning against Alaves means they're inconsistent, right? It's a question of motivation. Playing a season as La Liga Holders, after having absolutely murdered everyone's favorite team for CL trophy in their own stadium (First PSG, than Juve) it can't be easy motivating yourself to play well against La Ligas minnows. That's where the majority of the points were lost.

It's also a question of priorities. We have a team who, in the last 4 years have reached their goal, their pursuit of where they want to be. There is no doubt in the squad, no weakness. Just the knowledge that nobody can stand with them long enough to survive. So, they can't be faulted for saving their best for the very best of the opponents that the planet can offer.

On the other hand, we have a team who has steadily been declining the past 5-6 years. They are so far away from where they were in '12, and are only getting worse as time goes on. But they want to think they're the best still, right? So what do they do? They blow every little team that comes up against them even if they can't no longer deal with top quality. (hint: Spanish Super Cup) But winning still, against the minnows.. makes it feel like old glory. So why not keep going at it? The fact is, they only won the league because Real Madrid set their sights on writing history books - not using minnows as punching bags to make it 'look' like all is good.

To say that Real Madrid is not the best team in Spain because of that is just.. down-right idiotically short-sighted.

@Amerr

The fact is, they only won the league because Real Madrid set their sights on writing history books - not using minnows as punching bags to make it 'look' like all is good.

What I understood in a nutshell:

Not sure what to add to this topic other than everything that has been said about Reals significance of reaching the final for third time in the row. Treble is certainly difficult to achieve but defending CL title is just as difficult. If Real wins CL title again then there will be no doubt about greatest club in past decade. Although I think this real team is even better than the one Barcelona had in 2009 til 2012. But that is my view.

i think Reals experience payed off here....not that bayern havent got any experience, just that the Champions league seems to be Reals stand out league for performance....i agree with you as to why the media hate real...one main reason is Ronaldo...People hate him, yet he's one of the (if not THE) best goalscorers in the History of the game...
Why the media are saying that Real dont deserve to win, i dont know? theyve knocked out
Juventus - Probable Serie A Champions
PSG - Ligue 1 Champions
Bayern Munich - Bundesliga Champions
and beaten Dortmund and Spurs....so if anyone deserves to win the Champions league it is REAL MADRID and RONALDO

@PogbaTekkerz I agree with what you said but you made a mistake, Real didn't beat Spurs in the CL this season. They did beat them however in the Audi Cup. :P

@PogbaTekkerz I don't hate ronaldo, but I hate people who always go for ronaldo vs messi argument when it comes to their ucl matches respectively. what's the point? at the end of the day, is the squad and tactics good enough to compliment each other to carry the team to final and win it?

chelsea, inter, bayern, dortmund, juventus and possibly liverpool had shown that it's not really about messi vs ronaldo for the past 10 years. the media doesn't represent all football fans around the world, so off course as a viewer, I see what information/opinion is nonsense and what is credible.

I give Madrid full credit, because they had a difficult way to the final. Years they were accused of fixing the draws, now they got Dortmund ( I know they have problems, but still a great team) + Tottenham in the group, followed by the new attack force of PSG, finalist Juventus, and giants Bayern.

But to say that RM weren't lucky on some occasions is wrong imo, Juventus nearly pulled off a great comeback which was stopped by the ref. I can't blame the ref so much though, years ago he was blamed for not sending off Hart in Manchester Derby. Now, he is in the Bernabeu with billions of people watching, he felt the pressure from years ago, so he gave a penalty. Nothing to do with RM themselves, but I don't exactly think the ref was right, same time people shouldn't send hate messages to his wife... It's football, no need to go so far.

Against BM, they did basically get 2 free goals. That doesn't just happened, it is called luck. But the big teams will take advantage.

Even against Tottenham in game 2, I felt Tottenham were lucky, but that RM was probably half asleep. Even to this date, some players still seem to be sleeping. Carvajal is one example I don't think is as good as last season.

Not always convincing, but know how to win. That's RM.

Not always convincing, but know how to win. That's RM.

Yeah, thats them alright in a nutshell, especially in the last few games of CL. Still deserve it for taking their chance when their rival failed to do so.

By the way amerr, go check the comment on the Liverpool vs Roma highlight, you'll see thats it not only when madrid win that people say they didn't deserve it. Everyone going about how Roma were robbed.

winning the premier league is more challenging than winning serie a, bundesliga or la liga.

Completely false. Man City, Chelsea, United have shown that a good team can pound the EPL and get 85+ points fairly easily. EPL teams have been very mediocre in Europe since the 2011 United. Madrid, Barca, and Bayern consistently strike up 90+ points in their league because they're better than anyone else in Europe, including English teams.

the quality of ucl today is not the same as it is when teams like milan and inter and man utd are giving other teams a tough time too

What??? First of all, Barcelona and Bayern were still very good when Inter won the title, but there was no one else who was touted to win. No one else who had a chance.

When Milan was great, they were among the best knockout teams in the world! They were the equivalent of Madrid today, reaching 3 finals in 5 years. Same as today, there were a handful of teams who were favored to win: Milan, Juventus, Barcelona.

You know who featured for Inter in the Inter-Milan semi-final in 2003? Crespo, Zanetti, Cannavaro, and Vieri. That's it. Who's in today's PSG, or City, or Madrid, or Bayern, or Juventus? Are these teams all not visibly better than the Inter team of 2003? The only teams from that year's CL who are on the level of these top teams today are Juventus and Milan - which is what you'd expect.

It is pretty much unanimous that sports get better and better as time progresses, and the top teams today are better than the top teams 10 years ago. One day, someone will surpass the 2011 Barcelona team (might just be Pep's own Man City in the coming years).

even ajax is a big club before

Ajax's run to the final is akin to Monaco's run to the semis last season - a wonderful team with young players. Monaco didn't win against Juventus because the competition is just better today.

I agree with Dy. The competition today is much tougher than before. The game itself has progressed so much that it's hardly even comparable.

What Real accomplished these past few years is great and shows how good of a team they are in CL knockouts, they are a different beast there. My opinion though, is that they cannot be labeled as the greatest ever because they failed in La Liga and Copa. You need those, too. If not you are pretty much a one trick pony (magnificent trick though).

My hope for the next year CL is that (after a successful WC with VAR) VAR gets implemented so we cut out these bullshit controversy. Can't be that at this level, with this exposure we have to sit here and watch countless mistakes get made.

Ever since the Chelsea Barcelona match back in 2008-09 UEFA should have admitted there were many inconsistencoes on the refereeing and VAR should have started development and use at the earliest moment possible. UEFA is a disgrace in the words of Drogba.