Since Madrid reached (and won) the first five European Cup finals between 1956 and 1960, only five other clubs had managed even three in a row – Benfica, Ajax, Bayern and, in the UEFA Champions League era, AC Milan and Juventus.
Two goals in each half from striker Karim Benzema who was making a start after being dropped in the first leg. was all they needed to secure a place to Kiev.
Remarkably, in all those previous cases, when one team reached three in a row, another club immediately matched that feat!
REACHING THREE OR MORE UEFA CLUB FINALS IN A ROW
European Cup/UEFA Champions League
Real Madrid
2016: 1-1aet (5-3pens) v Atlético Madrid, Milan
2017: 4-1 v Juventus, Cardiff
2018: v ?, Kyiv
Juventus
1996: W 1-1 (aet; 4-2 pens) v Ajax, Rome
1997: L 1-3 v Borussia Dortmund, Munich
1998: L 0-1 v Real Madrid, Amsterdam
AC Milan
1993: L 0-1 v Marseille, Munich
1994: W 4-0 v Barcelona, Athens
1995: L 0-1 v Ajax, Vienna
Bayern München
1974: W 1-1/4-0 (replay) v Atlético Madrid, Brussels
1975: W 2-0 v Leeds United, Paris
1976: W 1-0 v St-Étienne, Glasgow
Ajax
1971: W 2-0 v Panathinaikos, Wembley
1972: W 2-0 v Internazionale Milano, Rotterdam
1973: W 1-0 v Juventus, Belgrade
Benfica
1961: W 3-2 v Barcelona, Berne
1962: W 5-3 v Real Madrid, Amsterdam
1963: L 1-2 v AC Milan, Wembley
Real Madrid
1956: W 4-3 v Stade de Reims, Paris
1957: W 2-0 v Fiorentina, Madrid
1958: W 3-2 (aet) v Milan, Brussels
1959: W 2-0 v Stade de Reims, Stuttgart
1960: W 7-3 v Eintracht Frankfurt, Glasgow
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