Real Madrid under threat of facing Champions League nightmare

Real Madrid CF are the undisputed kings of Europe after having won the European Cup a record thirteen times. No other club comes close to this record, with AC Milan a very distant second at seven titles. However, despite their impressive record in the competition, Los Blancos are running the risk of facing three consecutive losses against minnows Shakhtar Donetsk.

Real Madrid are travelling to Ukraine on Tuesday to the same venue where they lifted the 2018 UEFA Champions League trophy. This time, they will be facing Shakhtar Donetsk in the group stage of this season's tournament.

While the 13-time champions are the favourites on paper, their back-to-back losses against the same team in the group stage last year will be hounding them. The Spanish giants were fortunate to scrape past the group last season, eventually making it to the semi-finals only to be stopped by eventual champions Chelsea FC.

However, facing Shakhtar again this season can't be easy for Real Madrid, especially at the heels of a defeat at the hands of newcomers FC Sheriff Tiraspol on matchday 2.

The loss against Sheriff was humiliating enough, but yet another slip against Shakhtar will be a complete disaster for Carlo Ancelotti's men. It could potentially send their season in a downward spiral, which is a shame after such a brilliant start.

In the Champions League, Real Madrid won their opening game against Inter Milan before the stumble against Sheriff. They were also sitting on top of the La Liga table, but have now been caught by a handful of competitors.

Needless to say, the match is extremely crucial if they want to keep the momentum.

A victory by Shakhtar will be a much celebrated in Ukraine, with only four other European giants having been able to beat Real Madrid at least three times in a row.

Dutch side Ajax were the first to string together four wins against Los Blancos way back in the 1973 semi-finals, with their third and then fourth victories coming two decades later in the group stage in 1995.

German Bundesliga champions Bayern Munich have also scored a hat-trick of victories against Real Madrid between 2000 and 2002. Liverpool and Juventus are the other two teams that have achieved the feat, meaning Shakhtar will find themselves in elite company should they manage to get past Carlo Ancelotti's men this evening.