Real Madrid ahead of their last-16 second leg against
Atalanta on Tuesday night.
That s because they trail Atletico Madrid by six points in LaLiga Santander and in January saw two cups slip beyond their reach, as they were defeated in the Copa del Rey by Alcoyano and the Supercopa de Espana by Athletic Club.
However, this situation might not be as bleak as it looks for
Los Blancos. In fact, many of their European triumphs have come in seasons which would otherwise have been failures.
The first European Cup
Real Madrid won the first-ever European Cup in 1965, but in the same season they finished third in the league, 10 points behind Athletic, and were also knocked out the Copa del Rey by the Basque side.