Real Madrid are comeback kings - but history is against them
On three out of the past four occasions where Real Madrid have trailed after the first leg in the Champions League, they have fought back to reach the next round - against Wolfsburg in 2015-26 and in 2021-22 against both Paris St-Germain and Manchester City.But Arsenal can take belief from the fact that this is the joint-largest deficit Madrid have ever trailed by heading into a Champions League second leg.The last time they faced such a task was against Borussia Dortmund in the 2012-13 semi-final, when Robert Lewandowski netted a hat-trick in a 4-1 win for Jurgen Klopp's side in Germany.Real did win the return match 2-0 in Madrid, but Dortmund progressed to the final on aggregate.In fact, the only time they have fought back from three goals down after a first leg came in their last 16 meeting with Derby County in the 1975-76 edition of the European Cup, winning 6-5 on aggregate following a 4-1 defeat at the Baseball Ground.A deficit of three goals or more has been overturned just four times since the European Cup became the Champions League in 1992.One team have overturned a four goal-deficit - Barcelona in the game christened 'La Remontada' in 2016-17, when they beat PSG 6-1 at the Nou Camp.Stats company Opta gives Arsenal an 89.7% chance of progressing to the semi-finals, and Real have lost five games in the competition this season - a tally that equals a club record.Read the full match preview here
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