I think Real Madrid wants to play like a real team, but they haven't yet found out how they complement each other and in my opinion they are short of world class midfielders. Modric is too old although he can still play a great game, that's not the point. But compare this to the times when they had Modric and Kroos, that was insane.
There is no player who can replace a midfielder like Toni Kroos, if only relying on a midfielder like Luka Modric is not enough to lift the game that Real Madrid had last season, his limp in the middle line makes the ball supply not really good for the players in the front line sometimes Real Madrid's front players find it difficult to create goals for important matches, so it is not surprising that we will continue to see Real Madrid playing inappropriately, it does take time for the players to get their chemistry like Kylian Mbappé, Jude Bellingham both have not found the chemistry to work together in creating goal opportunities in domestic League matches or the Champions League.
Toni Kroos is a player whose absence is felt. I think he retired early, he could have played for another year or two. He played magnificently in Real Madrid’s midfield last year. Although the squad is better this year, his absence is obvious. If he was on the team, we would be watching a Real Madrid playing at a different level right now. Still, retiring is of course his choice and Real Madrid should get used to it. Perhaps Croatian legend Modric may also retire this year. Real Madrid urgently needs to make transfers for these positions.