Real Madrid may have one of the strongest teams in Europe, but their start to the 2017-18 La Liga campaign has been far from perfect.
Zinedine Zidane’s side were expected to begin the new season strongly, but Los Blancos have made a stuttering start.
11 points from six matches does not mean disaster, but it certainly does not scream title-winning form. Even Madrid’s latest La Liga win – a 2-1 victory over Alaves away from home – had its hiccups.
Madrid’s main title challengers this season are Barcelona, who are going strong in La Liga and have a 100% record.
The Blaugrana are as many as seven points clear of Zidane’s team and have to considered as the favourites for the league title at this moment in time.
The departure of Neymar to Paris Saint-Germain in the summer transfer window and the injury suffered by star forward Luis Suarez in August do not seem to have affected Barca in the slightest.
Lionel Messi remains the best player in the world, and the Argentina international forward has made a stunning start to the 2017-18 campaign.
The 30-year-old has scored nine goals and provided one assist in La Liga and has scored two goals in the Champions League already this season.
It is still early in the season, but the early signs suggest that Messi is going to have a hugely successful campaign.
This means that Madrid have to step up their game and have to win La Liga games, even if they have to win ugly.
Under Zidane, Los Blancos have played some scintillating football and were, without a shadow of a doubt, the best team to watch in the Champions League last season.
The Madrid giants’ fans want to see the players win by playing beautiful football, but for the next few weeks the team need to grind out result and pick up points howsoever they can.
With the odds on Sportsbet blog of Madrid winning the league title as high as 13/8, it is clear just how much work Zidane and his players need to do.
For Madrid to challenge Barcelona, the month of October is going to be key. The defending European champions simply cannot afford to lose any of the matches, even if Barcelona drop points.
The games are winnable as well. Picking up maximum points against Espanyol and Eibar at the Santiago Bernabeu and against Getafe and Girona away from home should not be hard for a team comprising of the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Isco, Gareth Bale, Toni Kroos, Luka Modric and Karim Benzema.
With Barca taking on Atletico Madrid at the Wanda Metropolitano and Athletic Bilbao at San Mames next month, Ernesto Valverde’s side could drop two or three points.
This can only be beneficial for Madrid, but only if they win all of their matches. If Madrid win the two Clasicos and remain in touch with Barcelona, then they certainly have the experience, the quality and the expertise to drive ahead in the final stretch of the season.
