Since the 21st century, the best defending champion in the Champions League was Real Madrid in the 17th to 18th season. So which giant in which season was the worst defending champion?

Speaking of the defending champion, the most discussed World Cup is often the World Cup. After all, it is rare to defend the champions once every four years in the World Cup. Every time I appear, it attracts the attention of all fans. Everyone wants to see if the defending champion can achieve ideal results with airs and psychological pressure.

In fact, there are also defending champions in the Champions League, but they are there every year, and defending champions are not worth making a fuss. However, the defending champion in the Champions League is the same as the defending champion in the World Cup, that is, it is extremely difficult to defend the title. In the history of the World Cup, only Italy and Brazil have successfully defended their titles, and they were all in the last century. In the history of the Champions League, Real Madrid's initial five consecutive championships were indeed more extreme, and later Ajax, Bayern, and Milan also had experience in defending their titles. But after the reform of the Champions League, this matter became increasingly difficult. Especially since the 21st century, defending the title has almost become a curse. Otherwise, Real Madrid is the king of the Champions League. Before the reform, Real Madrid set many records in the Champions League; after the reform, Real Madrid became the only team with experience in defending their titles. From 2016 to 2018, Real Madrid completed three consecutive Champions League titles, playing the same for all Europeans. Since he has completed three consecutive championships, Real Madrid has become the defending champion twice during this period, from the 16th to 17th season and from the 17th to 18th season. I have won the championship in both seasons, so which time did I have a better result? It should be from the 17th to 18th season. First of all, in the past two seasons, Real Madrid's group stage results have been average, and they are both second in the group. However, from the 16th to 2017, they won 3 wins and 3 draws to 12 points, and from the 17th to 2018, they won 4 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss to 13 points. Then there is the knockout stage. Overall, the two seasons were similar, but in the semi-finals, Real Madrid won and lost in the 16th to 17th season, and Real Madrid won and tied against Bayern in the 17th to 18th season. There is a detail here. In the quarterfinals of the 16-17 season, although Real Madrid appeared to beat Bayern twice, in fact, Real Madrid lost 1:2 at home in 90 minutes in the second leg, and the total score was tied into overtime, and Real Madrid turned defeat 4:2 to win. It would be a bit far-fetched to regard this game as a big victory for Real Madrid. Therefore, since the 21st century, the defending champion with the best results in the Champions League is Real Madrid from the 17th to 18th season.

There are the best, and there are the worst. Since the 21st century, the monopoly of giants has become increasingly serious, and teams that can win the Champions League are basically top giants. Porto in the 2003-04 season was regarded as the weakest champion since the reform of the Champions League, but in the 2004-05 season, they reached at least the quarterfinals. Perhaps, the top 16 is the bottom line of the defending Champions League champion. As strong as Real Madrid, they have also encountered this fate. In the 18-19 season, as defending champions, they were eliminated by Ajax in the quarterfinals. However, since the 21st century, there has been a defending Champions League champion who has not even rushed out of the group stage. Chelsea from 12 to 13 seasons. In fact, the process of Chelsea winning the Champions League championship in the 11th to 12th season is very difficult. At that time, their wounded soldiers were full of camps and their lineup was aging. In addition, the coach was a rookie Di Matteo, who had been in office for less than three months, and he had almost no weight to support them in the away game to defeat Bayern in the final. But Chelsea eventually created a miracle and defeated the German team with the penalty shootout that the German team is best at. But from the 12th to 2013, Chelsea still showed a downward trend. In the group stage, they were suppressed by Juventus and Donetsk miners, and only won the third place and were eliminated. So, they are the defending champions with the worst results in the Champions League since the 21st century. But since the third place in the Champions League group could still play in the Europa League, Chelsea was revitalized in the downward stadium and eventually won the Europa League championship. Of course, this is another track and has nothing to do with the Champions League.