5 most forgettable moments in Real Madrid's recent history

In their very recent history, Real Madrid have had few moments to be embarrassed about, winning one La Liga title, three UEFA Champions League titles and a Copa del Rey title since 2014.

However, for a long time, the Galacticos were struggling for consistency, often collapsed against big sides, and regularly saw their bitter rivals experience success around them. One of those teams experiencing lots of success was Barcelona, who pop up in this list on more than one occasion.

With El Clasicos almost always providing frustrating moments for both Real Madrid and Barcelona, it’s unsurprising that Real have had their fair share.

Here we take a look at five of Real Madrid’s most forgettable moments in their recent history:

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#5 Real Madrid 0-3 Barcelona (2017/18 La Liga)

Barcelona maintained their unbeaten start to the season with a win and a clean sheet at the Bernabeu

Despite mentioning that there have been few embarrassing moments in their very recent history, Real Madrid were taken apart by Barcelona at the Santiago Bernabeu just a few months ago in December.

Already trailing Barca by 11 points in the La Liga table, it was an opportunity, especially being at home, to try and make up some ground on the visitors. But, it did not go according to plan.

Just nine minutes after the half-time interval, Luis Suarez struck to give the away side the lead, and it all went downhill for the Galacticos from there.

Nine minutes later, Dani Carvajal was dismissed for handling the ball in the box, giving Barcelona the chance to double their lead from the spot. Lionel Messi stepped up, and as you’d expect, slotted it in the corner.

Finally, to put the icing on the cake, substitute Aleix Vidal added a third for Barcelona in injury time, as his effort squeezed under Keylor Navas. The goal was especially memorable for two reasons, one due to it being Messi’s 200th assist for Barcelona, but another being that he had his boot taken off by Marcelo, but he was still able to set Vidal up for the goal.

It had already been a dismal start to the season for Real, and things were made much worse by this El Clasico loss, as quite frankly, the home side never looked like winning. The team looked void of ideas and created only a small amount of chances, and it was undoubtedly an embarrassing match for Zinedine Zidane and his players.

#4 Borussia Dortmund 4-1 Real Madrid (2012/13 UCL semi-final)

Robert Lewandowski blew Madrid away in the first leg of their semi-final clash

Playing with three in midfield in an attempt to stop Dortmund seeing so much of the ball, Madrid failed disastrously.

Ilkay Gundogan, Mario Gotze and Marco Reus ran the show, weaving in and out of the Madrid players with none of them able to stop them.

But even more than Gundogan, Gotze and Reus, Robert Lewandowski tore Madrid apart. The Pole was already having a magnificent season in the Bundesliga, but he propelled himself to even new heights in this blockbuster match, putting in a man of the match performance.

After just eight minutes, Lewandowski was on the scoresheet, converting from close range after he was found with a cross by Gotze. Real were able to go in at the break level, which they would have been pleased about, but in the second half, the home side ran riot.

5 minutes into the second half, Lewandowski received the ball on the turn, and poked it home to re-establish Dortmund’s lead. Then, five minutes later, he produced a moment of magic, turning in the box, showing quick feet as he rolled it on to his right before he quickly hit a thunderous, unstoppable effort past Diego Lopes, giving his side a two-goal cushion.

Finally, to add even further insult, he scored a fourth from the penalty spot in the 66th minute, almost breaking the net with another emphatic strike.

After being knocked out in the semi-finals the previous year by German opposition, Jose Mourinho would have been eager to put things right this time around, but his team were actually fortunate to score in the first place, and were eventually embarrassed by Jurgen Klopp’s Dortmund.

#3 Watching Atletico Madrid win the 2013/14 La Liga title

Atletico became the first side other than Barcelona to clinch the La Liga title at the Nou Camp

Although Madrid would obviously have the last laugh when they would eventually beat Atletico in the final of the Champions League just a week later, seeing Atletico win their first league title since 1996 was certainly a deeply embarrassing moment for Real Madrid.

Even though Real Madrid fans would struggle to admit it, they would have probably even preferred to see Barcelona win the title, which they could have done if they had beaten Atletico in the final game of the season. However, after the two sides settled for a 1-1 draw, the title was Atletico’s.

Most annoyingly for Real, they could have won the title had they not been beaten by Celta Vigo in their 37th game of the season. Real finished three points behind their local rivals Atletico with a far superior goal difference.

In fact, in three of their last four games, Real Madrid dropped points. They drew at home to Valencia, away to Real Valladolid and lost to Celta. They had a great chance to win their first league title since 2012, but they fell at the last hurdle.

Especially considering that Atletico failed to win a game in their last three too, and practically fell over the finish line, Madrid arguably should have beaten their rivals to the title. They had the perfect opportunity to snatch it from under their noses, but they failed to do what was necessary to finish the job, meaning they embarrassingly allowed their bitter rivals to clinch the title.

#2 Barcelona 3-2 Real Madrid (2011/12 Super Copa de Espana aftermath)

All the players, managers and backroom staff were involved in an altercation after the final whistle

After missing out on the 2010/11 La Liga title, finishing four points behind Barcelona, it was Madrid’s chance to prove themselves as potential title winners when they faced Barcelona in the Super Copa de Espana.

After the first leg ended in a 2-2 draw at the Bernabeu, it was all to play for at the Camp Nou. And after 82 minutes in the second leg, it was still all to play for, with the score at 2-2 once again.

However, as he does so regularly, Messi popped up with a goal just two minutes from time, volleying past Iker Casillas after being found in the box by Dani Alves.The goal was greeted with fist pumping and elation by both Pep Guardiola and his players.

Despite it being just the Super Copa de Espana and effectively a warm-up for the start of the season, no game between these two teams was like a friendly. And this showed as tensions rose in stoppage time.

With seconds to go, Marcelo put in a horrible tackle on Cesc Fabregas, earning him a red card. But that was not the only thing that happened. A brawl practically broke out between the 22 players on the pitch, with Mesut Ozil and David Villa also ending up seeing red.

But most of all, it was then Real Madrid boss Jose Mourinho’s actions that were the most embarrassing, as he decided to gouge the eye of Barcelona manager, Tito Vilanova, for absolutely no reason at all.

Overall, it was a horrendously embarrassing day for Madrid, ending up second best to Barcelona once again.

#1 Barcelona 5-0 Real Madrid (2010/11 La Liga)

Villa scored two on a night where Barcelona dished out a devastating defeat

After a shock loss to Hercules at home in their second game of the season, Barcelona made an incredible start to the La Liga season.

After 12 games, they had scored three or more in half of them, including five against Sevilla and eight against Almeria, with the Almeria game being their final game before the El Clasico at home.

But Madrid had no reason to be worried, they were unbeaten, and had also scored lots of goals, including five or more on three occasions.

However, in this El Clasico, there was a difference in class. Barcelona thumped Real Madrid in an indescribable performance. They treated Real like a team in the relegation zone. It was humiliating for the away side and their fans.

After 18 minutes it was 2-0, with Xavi and Pedro scoring the goals. And after the break, it got worse. Two magnificent passes from Messi just before the hour mark gave David Villa two goals on a plate, and made it 4-0 at the Nou Camp, before Jeffren rounded off the scoring, chipping over Casillas.

As he has done so frequently to Madrid, Messi toyed with the Real Madrid players, making them look silly with some phenomenal passing and dribbling.

All in all, it was a terribly embarrassing day for Madrid, especially after making such a promising start to the season. They knew they were back to square one again, as they once again failed to show that they could compete with Barcelona when it came to facing them.