REAL MADRID
Invincible Luka
Since the 2013 semifinal defeat to Borussia Dortmund, Real Madrid have not been knocked out of Europe with Luka Modric on that field.
1,934 days, 63 months, 246 weeks or five years… whatever way you look at it, the fact is that Luka Modric not been knocked out of Europe since 2013, when Los Blancos lost on aggregate to Borussia Dortmund in the semifinal.
Since then Madrid have not been knocked out of Europe with the Croatian on the field, in which time they have won four Champions League titles and three Uefa Super Cups.
During this period, Madrid have only been eliminated from Europe once, which was in the 2015 semifinal against Juventus. Modric missed the two ties as a result of a knee ligament injury he had picked up a few weeks earlier in the 3-1 victory over Malaga, which kept him out for the rest of that season. In the 2-1 defeat in first leg in Turin, Ramos was the surprisingly chosen to replace Modric and played as a defensive midfielder. In the return leg, Isco filled the Croatian boots, with the game finishing 1-1, and 3-2 on aggregate to Juventus.
But since that disappointing night at the Bernabeu in May, 2015, Casemiro, Kroos and Modric have dominated European football, without whom Madrid would not have won three consecutive Champions League titles. After all of the Inter speculation, Modric has travelled to Tallinn, and, although it is unlikely he will start the game, he could come on to contribute to yet another European knockout victory tonight, keeping his impressive record intact.
