(Football news) The UEFA Champions League formerly known as the European Cup has been the premier club football competition for nearly 7 decades. There have been a number of clubs who have left their mark on this competition but none come anywhere near Real Madrid.

Los Blancos are truly Reyes de Europa (Kings of Europe), having won the competition 13 times which is 6 more than the 2nd best AC Milan. Their record in this competition is simply outstanding. They hold the record for most appearances, most matches and most goals scored but also for most draws, most defeats and most goals conceded. Their European pedigree is so much more than mere numbers, it is about the aura of the club and it's players. Alfredo Di Stefano, Emilio Butragueño, Ferenc Puskas, Paco Gento, Reymond Kopa, Raul, Iker Casillas, Roberto Carlos, Zinedine Zidane, Sergio Ramos and Cristiano Ronaldo are some of the legends who have played to the Merengues and stamped their authority on the UEFA Champions League.

In Real Madrid's home UCL game against Shakhtar Donetsk on Wednesday, Karim Benzema netted twice to secure a 2-1 win. The first goal was historical as it was the 1000th UCL goal for Real Madrid. If anyone truly deserves the honour of scoring this historical goal in this current squad it is Karim Benzema. Despite all the historical context, Real Madrid didn't have the best of games as Shakhtar could've stolen the match on various occasions. 

Also read: Robert Lewandowski marks 100th UCL appearance with rare goalscoring feat

There was a point in the game where the crowd at the Santiago Bernabeu started jeering the players. Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti in his post match press conference indirectly defended the crowd by saying that it was good that the fans whistled as the players needed to be woken up. With 1001 UCL goals, Real Madrid have 233 more than 2nd placed Bayern Munich. Even if Real Madrid stop playing the UCL, it will take some effort to break any of their illustrious records in this elite competition.