Real Madrid have been exceptional for several years now, continually winning La Liga and Champions League titles, and reaffirming that they’re one of the biggest and best teams on the planet.
And this year was supposed to be a continuation of that theme. With young superstars Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Jr. further establishing themselves, plus the addition of bona fide star talent Kylian Mbappe, it was assumed that Real Madrid would sweep past all teams put in front of them.
Yet that hasn’t quite happened. While the season is also young, there’s an uncertainty surrounding Real Madrid that is positively out of sync with what everyone expected from the club. Can they still end the season with another haul of trophies? Absolutely. Will they? That’s harder to say.
La Liga: Not a Formality
Real Madrid haven’t gotten off to a flying start in La Liga. They may still be unbeaten, but they haven’t been entirely convincing in their opening run of games. And worryingly for Los Blancos, Barcelona seem to know what they’re doing this time around. Sports betting websites still have Real Madrid as favourites to be title winners, but we can expect that this will be a closer title race than what we saw last year. Atletico Madrid, while firmly outsiders, will also be quietly confident they can lift the trophy, especially if their neighbours don’t start performing soon.
Champions League: Other Teams Have Glory in Sight
The Champions League is Real Madrid’s competition. They’ve won it a staggering fifteen times, including six times in the past ten years. That’s as many as other leading European clubs Liverpool and Bayern Munich have won in their entire history.
Real Madrid have proven that they know how to win Europe’s premier tournament even when they seem destined to be knocked out. This year, Manchester City are favourites, but Real Madrid will secretly believe they can pull off another title. Happily for Madrid, the winner of the Champions League has to prove themselves in April and May, not the earlier months of the season, so there’s plenty of time for them to find top form.
Mbappe: Yet to Really Get Going
One of the longest transfer sagas of modern times finally came to an end when Mbappe joined Real Madrid in the summer. When he did, it was assumed that he would hit the ground running and prove that the Bernabeu was his kingdom. Surprisingly, that hasn’t quite happened yet.
While he has scored a few goals, his performances haven’t exactly been electrifying. Of course, it’s extremely early days, and it’s almost inevitable that he will eventually become a Real Madrid legend. However, whether he’ll become their superstar this year is uncertain. If he doesn’t step up and begin improving his performances, then Real Madrid’s season will be a lot more difficult, especially since it’s unlikely that Ancelotti will be able to drop Mbappe to the bench even if he’s out of form.
Where the Team Need to Improve
The team, while stacked with talent, is struggling to find its rhythm. They’re more reliant on individual talents winning them games, as opposed to the more balanced approach, which is to have the whole team contribute toward victory. Of course, when you have a team as full of talent as Real Madrid’s team, you can get away with taking a little bit of time for the team to gel. They’re still mostly winning games, after all.
…But It’s Still Real Madrid
For all the questioning of Real Madrid’s performances, it’s still Real Madrid. People have written them off before, and they still ended up winning all the major trophies. So don’t be surprised if it happens this year, too.