Real Madrid are the most successful team in European competition, with 14 Champions League titles in their club's illustrious history.
Yet even the best are prone to the occasional thumping, as they discovered at the hands of Pep Guardiola and Manchester City when they were thumped 4-0 at the Etihad in the second leg of their semifinal matchup on May 17, 2023.
The 4-0 final result equalled Real Madrid's worst result ever in the Champions League, dominated from start to finish by an overwhelming Man City performance.
The Sporting News brings you a full look at Real Madrid's history in European competition to see when they've been humbled in similar fashion. Spoiler: it hasn't happened often.
4-0 - @ManCity have reached their second UEFA Champions League final, inflicting Real Madrid's joint-heaviest defeat in the competition (also 0-4 v Liverpool in March 2009). Trebling. pic.twitter.com/WxM9bqThso
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) May 17, 2023
Real Madrid largest defeats in Champions League
The defeat to Manchester City was just the second time ever in Champions League play that Real Madrid had lost by four goals.
It matched the scoreline from the 4-0 defeat to Liverpool at Anfield in 2009, when Madrid bowed out in the Round of 16 to a Reds side that would fall to Chelsea in the quarterfinals.
However, the 4-0 result is not Real Madrid's heaviest in their European history. That would be the 5-0 thrashing they received at the hands of AC Milan in the semifinal of the 1988/89 European Cup.
They were also blasted by a 5-0 scoreline in the 1981/82 UEFA Cup by German club Kaiserslautern, in the competition that is today known as the Europa League.
Real Madrid have also lost by four goals on two other occasions prior to the Champions League rebrand in 1992/93. They were beaten 5-1 by Benfica in the first leg of their 1964/65 quarterfinal matchup, and then again by the same scoreline by Hamburg in the second leg of the 1979/80 semifinals.
Real Madrid worst losses in Champions League history
Below are a list of heaviest Real Madrid defeats in the Champions League era, which began in 1992/93 after the rebranding from the old European Cup.
| Date | Result | Stage | Venue |
| May 17, 2023 | Man City 4-0 Real Madrid | Semi 2nd leg | Etihad Stadium (Manchester, England) |
| March 10, 2009 | Liverpool 4-0 Real Madrid | Rd. 16 2nd leg | Anfield (Liverpool, England) |
| Sept. 18, 2019 | PSG 3-0 Real Madrid | Group Stage | Parc des Princes (Paris, France) |
| March 5, 2019 | Real Madrid 1-4 Ajax | Rd. 16 2nd leg | Santiago Bernabeu (Madrid, Spain) |
| Dec. 12, 2018 | Real Madrid 0-3 CSKA Moscow | Group Stage | Santiago Bernabeu (Madrid, Spain) |
| April 24, 2013 | B. Dortmund 4-1 Real Madrid | Semi 1st leg | Westfalenstadion (Dortmund, Germany) |
| Sept. 13, 2005 | Lyon 3-0 Real Madrid | Group Stage | Stade de Gerland (Lyon, France) |
| Sept. 15, 2004 | B. Leverkusen 3-0 Real Madrid | Group Stage | BayArena (Leverkusen, Germany) |
| March 8, 2000 | B. Munich 4-1 Real Madrid | 2nd Group Stage | Olympiastadion (Munich, Germany) |