Just six months on from their Champions League triumph, Real Madrid are sinking into a state of crisis.
Hammered 4-0 by rivals Barcelona in the Clasico at the end of October, Los Blancos slumped to a second consecutive home defeat on Tuesday in Europe, with AC Milan triumphing 3-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Carlo Ancelotti’s star-studded side was outclassed in front of their own supporters, as Kylian Mbappe fired blanks once more.
The 25-year-old France captain has scored just once in his last six games, which is a worry given the team’s lack of balance this season, in part to accommodate him.
Mbappe is far from Madrid’s only problem, with the defence leaking and the midfield lacking patience and creativity.
With Barcelona nine points clear at the top of La Liga and Madrid losing two of their opening Champions League fixtures, Ancelotti is coming under heavy scrutiny and does not seem to have the answers he needs.
“The players have to take a step forward, and I have to with them,” admitted the coach after Madrid’s defeat by Milan.
“When there’s no solidity, you have to have more organisation and work together.
“I can’t say that the players are lazy, but we are not capable of working together efficiently… we can’t have this defensive level.”
‘Underestimated’ Kroos
Madrid have let in nine goals in their last three matches, all at home, reflecting Ancelotti’s concerns.
With captain Dani Carvajal injured, Lucas Vazquez has been filling in at right-back which has weakened the defence.
Eder Militao does not seem fully fit, left-back Ferland Mendy is out of form and holding midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni is struggling badly too.
In midfield the retirement of Toni Kroos in the summer has left Madrid lacking poise and timing.
The German knew how to control the tempo of a match and glued the team together in a way that Fede Valverde has struggled to replicate.
Former Real Madrid player and coach Jorge Valdano highlighted Kroos’s absence as a big issue for Madrid.
“There is not much balance in the squad and I think Kroos’ departure was underestimated,” he said on Movistar.
“In the middle of the pitch is where the team is not finding balance, and Kroos’s presence was a cure, because he gave the team the patience they needed, and his mental speed when it was necessary to accelerate (was useful).
“Madrid have lost many things without Kroos and they are not capable of compensating for that, not even with some of the best players in the world.”
Ancelotti has not found a permanent position for Jude Bellingham, who was the star of last season’s La Liga and Champions League double, but has been displaced by Mbappe’s arrival from Paris Saint-Germain in the summer.
Mbappe prefers to play on the left wing but that is where Vinicius Junior operates best and thus far Ancelotti has kept the Brazil star there.
Neither player is particularly helpful when it comes to pressing, which is where Madrid’s defensive problems begin.
The worry for Los Blancos is that even since the Clasico, with Madrid’s La Liga match against Valencia last weekend postponed, Ancelotti was not able to improve things for the Milan game.
League matches against Osasuna and Leganes either side of the international break may offer the team some respite before Madrid face Liverpool at Anfield in another important European clash.