Real Madrid have improvements and they are now better than themselves in early months of this season, with poor performances of Mbappe and many injured players. They now are leading La Liga and already went to Champions League playoff phase, and things are good for them than early months of season when they fell behind Barcelona with big point difference.
They of course don't win any title in February but they are going well and if they can play well or better, La Liga title will belong to them. In Champions League, two playoff matches with Manchester City will be very difficult, but if Real Madrid can beat this opponet, at later phases Real Madrid will be a dangerous opponents for any big club in Europe.
The very start of the season, Real Madrid was hit by huge injury blow and that alone dissemble all plans for skyrocketing among oppositions. We watched them struggle to win games but at the end of the day, Carlo Ancelotti brought them back to their feet and this time, they're directly winning matches and scaling through important phase in the UEFA Champions League and also La Liga.
Real Madrid accumulate vital points to elevate themselves to be standing top of the La Liga table. Ignored the rumors that classified Barcelona to be the best team in Spain, I doubt if they can be able to match competitive momentum with other elite oppositions, not in their domestic La Liga season but in UCL. This is where it matters, winning matches and receiving rewards, where they get to face their opponents of the exact same level.