Despite a tough start to the season, Real Madrid remain strong contenders for silverware under Carlo Ancelotti.
Carlo Ancelotti’s Real Madrid were certainly one of the best teams in Europe last season as they ended up winning the Champions League as well as La Liga. But, they haven’t had the best of starts to the 2024/25 campaign. However, Los Blancos are known to be a team that comes good when it matters.
With the second half of the season still left, the team in white can certainly still fight for all major titles. When Ancelotti shifted to a 4-4-2 diamond last season upon the arrival of Jude Bellingham there were a lot of questions about whether it was the right shape to go ahead with, eventually, things did work out as the English international played an integral part in all the success they had.
Once again, the Italian manager has been forced to make a major tactical change to his system as Los Blancos look to integrate Kylian Mbappe into the team. While the French international is certainly one of the world’s best and his arrival bolsters their attack, adjusting to the number nine role hasn’t been that straightforward for him.
Apart from the tactical changes and Mbappe’s struggle, injuries have caused a lot of problems for Los Blancos. David Alaba is yet to return from the ACL injury he picked up last season while Eder Militao and Dani Carvajal are out for the remainder of the season.
Despite all that is going wrong, Real Madrid can still turn things around and it seems slowly things are getting better for them. Here is why The Hard Tackle believes Los Blancos could still end up conquering Europe in the 2024/25 season.
The big 3 have started to click
There is no doubt about the fact that Kylian Mbappe, Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior are the three biggest match-winners for Los Blancos. While Vinicius has been in form since the start of the new season, the other two didn’t get off to the best of starts.
The Brazilian winger has 29 goal contributions in his last 27 Champions League games. As far as the ongoing season is concerned, Vinicius has 13 goals and nine assists in his 20 outings. While the 24-year-old has a habit of stepping up in the big games, he can’t really do it all alone.
The good news for Madrid is that Mbappe has started to settle into the team and is close to returning to his best. While he is currently out injured, the French international has scored three goals in his last four outings. He has been scoring every now and then but the important part is that he looks at home in that central role.
Mbappe’s pace and his ability to take on defenders are what make him a special player and slowly he starting to get into the groove. The goal against Atalanta in particular suggested that he is very close to being at his best.
While Bellingham has been doing most things right, he wasn’t scoring goals at the start of the season something that he did regularly last season. He is playing in a much deeper role this season which surely has an impact on his output. But, he is a goal-scoring midfielder and his drought was becoming a concern.
However, the English midfielder has managed to turn things around. He has scored in each of his last six league games. Bellingham certainly looks to have found his scoring boots and with all three of them clicking, Los Blancos could become a force to reckon with.
A strong and impactful bench
Despite all the injuries that Real Madrid have suffered in the ongoing season, they still have enough firepower on their bench. While their starting XI is full of stars, the bench is equally important to all the success they have had over the years.
Ancelotti’s substitutions often change the course of a game and given the kind of impact Brahim Diaz and Joselu had last season, they do need to have those options for when the time comes. While Joselu left the club in the summer after a season where scored a match-winning brace in the semi-final of the Champions League, Diaz is still there to make some serious impact.
While the Morrocan international is not a regular starter, he is a very important part of Ancelotti’s plans. So far, he only has four goal contributions but those numbers will surely go up as he gets more minutes in the second half.
Apart from Diaz, Ancelotti has the option to call upon Arda Guler and Endrick. While the Turkish gem has been getting some minutes of late, the Brazilian international is yet to get a proper run in the team despite having contributed towards three goals in just 160 minutes of first-team action.
With Madrid playing almost every three days in the second half, the substitutes can surely have a big say on how far they go in all competitions. Apart from the attacking talent, Madrid also have maestro Luka Modric on their bench.
While he is still good enough to start on most days, the veteran midfielder is more of a rotation player this time around. Given the kind of experience he has, Ancelotti can throw him into the mix every time things get complicated for the Spanish giants.
Madrid are very much alive in all competitions
Apart from the Copa del Rey and Supercopa de Espana, Los Blancos are very much in the race for the La Liga as well as the Champions League title. While the team in white didn’t have the best of starts to the new season, they are very much in the mix.
They had the opportunity to go top of La Liga but a 3-3 draw against Rayo Vallecano last night didn’t help their cause. But, they are just one point behind Barcelona after 17 fixtures. Despite all that has gone wrong for Real Madrid in the first half, they are serious contenders for the league title.
With all their stars back in form, they will surely give the Catalan giants a big fight for the title. Meanwhile, the Champions League has been the biggest concern for the Spanish giants as they have lost three out of their first six league games. A top-eight finish looks next to impossible but they are currently 20th and can surely make it to the knockout stages with fixtures against RB Salzburg and Brest remaining.
The difficult part for Madrid will be to get past these fixtures and make it to the next round. If they do make it to the knockouts, Los Blancos will be playing without any baggage of previous results. More importantly, knockout games tend to bring the best out of the team in white and they can certainly once again go far in their favourite competition.