Real Madrid travel to Marrakech to face Cruz Azul, a team that needed two hours on a rain-soaked pitch to defeat team that currently occupies the last spot in their domestic league. In a scenario that favors Real so much it might as well have been written by Carlo Ancelotti himself that the Spanish giants will have the huge upper hand in Tuesday’s semi-final match-up with last season’s CONCACAF Champions League winners.

Ancelotti’s men will be riding high after winning their 20th consecutive match against Almeria on Friday. They will also play without thinking of their La Liga lead as Barcelona dropped points against Getafe, which ensured that the reigning European champions will end 2014 as the leaders of La Liga. That will provide Real with a huge injection of confidence, but it’s not like they particularly need one after winning every match they’ve played in the last three months.

Real Madrid’s opponent will be Cruz Azul, a team that had to spend enormous amounts of energy in atrocious conditions yesterday for a full two-hour match against the Western Sydney Wanderers. On top of going through that gruelling match, they will have to play a Real side that have ample time to prepare. As mentioned earlier, it does indeed seem like the fate favors Real as Cruz Azul players are likely to be exhausted after their match with only three days rest. Their captain (and top goal scorer at the moment) Gerardo Torrado has said otherwise as he mentioned after that match: “We have trained for months for this match as you don’t get to play Real Madrid everyday. These types of matches are the matches you have to enjoy.” But will it be enough? Will training for months to face a single team be enough? In Real’s current form, many will say an unequivocal no.

Real Madrid are currently on a 20-match winning streak in all competitions with just 10 goals conceded and a whopping 75 goals scored in that run. They have especially excelled away from home this season as they currently stand as the team with the most away goals in all of Europe (in the league and in all competitions). In fact, they have managed to score three or more goals in six of their last eight away matches.

Cruz Azul have won just one away match this entire season (from 11 away matches). They have also collected just nine points out of a maximum 33 away from home in 2014/15. They sit in 13th spot in the Mexican League while their 2014/15 CONCACAF Champions League defence campaign ended abruptly in the group stage. As a matter of fact, their one and only away win this season came on Saturday against a nine-man team that sits at the very bottom of the Australian League (Western Sydney Wanderers).

Some have claimed that winning all six matches in the Champions League coupled with leading La Liga and their record winning run may have sapped all the enthusiasm and urgency from Real, which couldn’t be further from the truth. Ancelotti’s men will be looking to lift their fourth title in 2014 after winning the Champions League, Copa del Rey, and UEFA Super Cup. You can be sure that being the first team in the club’s history to lift four titles in one calendar year will be motivating enough for the capital outfit. Needless to say, another trophy won cannot hurt Ancelotti and Cristiano Ronaldo’s chances at lifting the awards that they are nominated for at the Ballon d’Or gala in January.

Finally, Real will be without their midfield duo of James Rodriguez and Luka Modric who are both out because of injury. While the front and back lines are not likely to be changed as Ramos will be returning after a week and a half rest while Varane may deputize for Pepe. Real’s attack, a.k.a. the BBC (Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Ronaldo) will resume business as usual which is of course bad news to whatever defense has the misfortune of playing against the trio. The three stars have racked up a total of 54 goals in all competitions this season, a tally that only the entire Bayern Munich squad in all of Europe can say they have surpassed.

So, with their brutal quarter-final match still taking its toll on their body, and with a ‘less-than-great’ away record this season, Cruz Azul will look to stop Real Madrid’s historic winning streak when teams such as Liverpool, Basel, Barcelona, Malaga, Villarreal, and Bilbao have all failed to do.

The Champions League group stage wrapped up last night with the 6th and final group match-day. Now that the first part of the tournament is over and the next part (the knockout rounds) don’t begin until February, it’s a good time to look back and review the statistics of the group stage.

1. Most Wins:

Real Madrid – 6 wins: The reigning European champions racked up a perfect 100% score in the group stage with 6 wins out of 6.

Bayern Munich – 5 wins: Continuing their form from the Bundesliga, Bayern didn’t drop any beats with 5 wins in the group stage.

Chelsea – 4 wins: The current Premier League leaders found it easy to rack up 4 wins from an admittedly easy group.

2. Most Clean Sheets:

Monaco – 5 clean sheets: Not surprising, seeing as how Monaco tied the record for the least amount of goals scored to win a group with only 4 goals scored in the entire group stage. A strong defense is expected from a team such as this.

Atletico Madrid – 5 clean sheets: After their initial 3-2 loss in Greece, Atletico won the next 5 matches without conceding a goal.

Real Madrid – 4 clean sheets: The surprise name perhaps on the list as the capital club is known for its attacking force. However, their defense played a big part in securing 6 wins with 4 clean sheets kept.

Bayern Munich – 4 clean sheets: The team with the least league goals conceded in the top 5 leagues, Bayern Munich were expected to keep that defensive discipline in the UCL and they did not disappoint.

3. Most Goals Scored:

Chelsea – 17 goals: Just 3 goals short of tying the all-time UCL group stage record, Chelsea produced enough attacking prowess to make even the most solid defensive forces wary of facing them.

Real Madrid – 16 goals: The strongest attack in Europe was expected to pull in a significant number of goals and Ancelotti’s men obliged with 16 goals in 6 wins in the group stage.

Bayern Munich – 16 goals: Guardiola’s Bayern maintained their attacking force with 16 goals thanks largely to their 7-1 demolishing of Roma.

Porto – 16 goals: Perhaps unexpectedly, Porto managed the same number of goals as heavyweights such as Bayern and Real Madrid and more than any of the other teams, an impressive feat helped marginally by their relatively weak group.

4. Least Goals Conceded:

Monaco – 1 goal conceded: With only 4 goals scored yet still winning their group, you know that Monaco must have had a great defensive record to achieve that feat. And that is evident here with just 1 goal conceded in 6 games.

Real Madrid – 2 goals conceded: As mentioned earlier, Real Madrid are more known for their attack yet their defense really did shine through with 4 clean sheets in a row in their last 4 group stage matches.

Chelsea – 3 goals conceded: Typical of any Jose Mourinho team, Chelsea were well disciplined in defense and conceded just 3 goals in the group stage.

Atletico Madrid – 3 goals conceded: Just like Jose Mourinho, Diego Simeone’s Atletico is know to keep a tight defense no matter who they play.

5. Best Goal Difference:

Real Madrid and Chelsea – (+14): When you possess a great defense and attack, that translates into an impressive goal difference.

Porto and Bayern Munich – (+12): Even though both teams conceded 4 goals, their great offensive haul of 16 goals helped them in gaining an imposing goal difference.

6. Undefeated Teams:

Real Madrid: With 6 wins, no draws, and no losses, the reigning champions clearly had the most impressive group stage performance overall.

Chelsea: With their supremely solid form this season, it is not a surprise to see Mourinho’s men as one of the 3 undefeated sides remaining in the Champions League.

Porto: Again the surprise entrant, Porto had an excellent group stage even by the high standards of the UEFA Champions League. With 5 wins, no losses, and 16 goals scored, it is not inconceivable to think of Porto as a potential ‘dark horse’.

7. The ‘Worst’ Ones:

Least wins: Maribor, APOEL, and Galatasaray [0 wins].

Least goals scored: APOEL [1 goal].

Most goals conceded: BATE Borisov [24 goals].

Most losses: Malmo, BATE, Galatasaray, APOEL [5 losses].

Worst goal difference: BATE Borisov [-22].

Least points earned: APOEL and Galatasaray [1 point].

In a match that saw not one, not two, not three but four different records at stake, you knew that Real Madrid would actually play for something against Ludogorets even though the Spanish giants had already qualified for the Knockout Round of the Champions League. Yet that still didn’t change the fact that with mostly fringe players and never leaving third gear, the reigning European champions easily dismantled the Bulgarian champions four nil.

The first record on the line was the most consecutive wins by a Spanish club which, until last night, Real Madrid shared with Barcelona. But with their 19th consecutive win in all competitions, Real Madrid are now officially the club with the most consecutive wins in the history of Spain, a remarkable achievement given the fact that most pundits and fans were saying this will be a disaster season after the sales of Angel Di Maria and Xabi Alonso coupled with the early rough start of the season.

The second record on the line was becoming the first team ever to win all 6 matches in the UCL group stage in 2 different seasons. AC Milan, Spartak Moscow, Barcelona, and Paris Saint-Germain had all managed 6 out of 6 wins in the group stage once. Real Madrid however have now managed it twice.

The third record was the biggest points difference between first and second place in the history of the UEFA Champions League. With Real Madrid winning last night and Basel failing to beat Liverpool, Real Madrid equaled that record by leaving an 11-point gap between themselves and second placed Basel — the same gap that Spartak Moscow (1995/96) and Barcelona (2002/03) had achieved before.

The fourth and final record, and the only one not fulfilled, was Cristiano Ronaldo equaling Messi’s goal tally in the Champions League. Ronaldo needed to score at least a hat trick to equal Messi but he only managed one goal last night, which kept Messi 2 goals ahead of Ronaldo.

Eighteen matches, 18 wins, 67 goals scored, nine goals conceded, is there really any team that can stop Real Madrid at the moment?

The safe bet would be ‘no’. But soccer is a particularly difficult game where one challenger might not drop you but the accumulation of challengers will. Real Madrid have gone 18 consecutive matches without dropping points, but now they are nearing the Club World Cup and then start 2015 with two back to back away matches vs. Valencia and Atletico Madrid. Maybe none of the teams Real Madrid will face between now and Atletico are better than them but the challenging aspect of playing so many risky matches close to each other, coupled with the fact that Luka Modric is out injured and James was subbed off because of a suspected muscle injury; makes the prospect of Real Madrid continuing their winning streak for much a longer a distant chance.

After tying Barcelona as the Spanish club with the most consecutive wins in all competitions last week, Real Madrid will now aim to catch the world record for most consecutive wins, held by Brazil’s Coritiba at an astonishing 24 consecutive wins. In order to equal that record, Ancelotti’s men will have to win the following matches: Ludogorets at home in the UCL tonight, Almeria away from home in La Liga, the 2 Club World Cup matches, Valencia away from home in La Liga, and finally (and most difficult) Atletico Madrid at the Calderon in the Copa del Rey.

If the reigning European champions had a full squad and a few weeks rest this might seem like a doable challenge, but with Luka Modric out, James seemingly injured as well, Khedira still recovering, and Kroos showing sign of fatigue; it seems that Real Madrid’s midfield will bore the brunt of the onslaught coming their way in the next few weeks.

Real Madrid’s midfield’s connection with the forward line (usually the BBC) is one of the most important aspects in the side that Ancelotti has formed in his second season with the club. This is further demonstrated with the brutal and ruthless attacking force that the team has evolved in. For any observer of Real Madrid in the last 5-6 seasons, the attacking prowess will always be a main talking point when it comes to the team’s strength, but never before has the team been this prolific in front of goal. Real Madrid are currently the team with the most goals in La Liga (51), the most league goals in the Top 5 Leagues (51), the most goals in all competitions in Europe (75), and finally the most goals in the calendar year of 2014 so far (165). The team’s current numbers for the season are even more impressive when you factor in the ludicrously small number of games they have played (14 in La Liga and 24 in all competitions).

Therefor given Real Madrid dependence on their attack and how well they link with the midfield, it is quite essential that Ancelotti starts increasing his rotations in those 2 areas, something that we have seen him impalement in the most recent matches. Examples of which can be seen in him resting 8 starters vs. Cornella, substituting Cristiano before the end of the game in his last 2 games, Using Illarra, Khedira, and even youth team starlet Medran in midfield on some occasions. It is clear that Ancelotti is very much aware and wary of the aspect of fatigue as the team is showing, little by little, some signs of it which is concerning when you remember it is still December. In the end one must remember that Ancelotti was the only one in the capital seemingly that stayed calm after the back-to-back defeats to Sociedad and Atletico, after which Real Madrid embarked in their historic 18-match winning run. So Madridistas should learn to trust in the Italian ‘mister’ as he has proved time and time again that he will prevail, and with him the team will flourish even more.