Road to the 2014 Champions League Final: Real Madrid

Los Blancos were drawn into Group B with Galatasaray, Juventus, and FC Copenhagen, and began group play with an emphatic 6-1 victory over Galatasaray. They followed up with two more victories -- a 4-0 defeat of Copenhagen and a 2-1 win over Juve -- to finish the first half of group play undefeated. Madrid were held to a 2-2 draw by Juve in the return match in Turin, but finished the group stage strong with wins over Galatasaray and Copenhagen to finish first in the group, qualifying for the knockout stages.

Madrid were drawn against Schalke 04 in the Round of 16, and had no trouble with the German side, winning the two-leg tie by an aggregate score of 9-2. Their adventure through the Bundesliga continued in the quarterfinals against last year’s Champions League runner-up Borussia Dortmund, the team that had knocked Madrid out of the tournament in the semifinals.

Last season, Dortmund took a three-goal lead after the first leg and then survived a furious comeback attempt by Madrid to advance to the final. This time, Madrid turned the tables on Dortmund, taking the first leg 3-0 at the Estadio Bernabéu before holding on in the second leg to advance 3-2 on aggregate.

In the semifinal round, Madrid faced defending champions Bayern Munich in a match-up many had hoped to see in the final. Los Blancos took a 1-0 lead after the first leg in Madrid, before heading to Munich for the second leg. While many picked the Germans to comeback and advance to their second straight final, it was Madrid who stepped-up, crushing Bayern 4-0.