More precisely because some of the players they have are injured so that Real Madrid's strength is much less consistent. They have lost twice in the Champions League so far and the defeats were against teams that were not too strong so there are many things that Ancelotti needs to fix and that is not talking about the draws they have gotten. Real Madrid remains the favorite in the Champions League because they do have a very good mentality in the league.
But if their strength is not much better and they do not play more solidly then I doubt they will be able to maintain consistency and it will be much more difficult to defend the title because currently there are many other teams that may have changed with much stronger and more solid strength.
Well, in the end, Real Madrid's strength is still very much taken into account even though it is in a fairly unstable condition at the moment. Because we never know when Real Madrid will surprise us again with the stunning performances they usually show on the pitch. The lack of quality second line players in the back line has led to Real Madrid not being optimal at the back at the moment. So they didn't have a solid defense after their main player was injured. But I'm starting to think that it's only a matter of time until the current players can adapt and start becoming solid defenders too. For now, Real Madrid's main focus is to secure their position and at least they must qualify for the play-offs. Because if Real Madrid fails too quickly in the UCL then it will really destroy their reputation in the UCL.