Real Madrid were pretty bad last season and are the weakest team among the teams that could win the title. Their main problem last season was their defense where we can see some new players. But how they will play in Real Madrid and what their impact will be in Real Madrid is still unknown. They have even hired a new coach which is a bit of a worry for Real Madrid. As expected, Real Madrid will play a bit badly at the beginning of the season. But over time, we may expect Real Madrid to return to their old form with coach Xabi Alonso, or not. It all depends on time and we don't know anything about that.
Real Madrid's problem last season was not just the defence. It's difficult to have a good defence when your midfield and attack don't press hard. Its difficult to not concede goals when the midfilde cannot retain the ball and control the game. We know that Real Madrid has never been a team that focuses on ball possession, but at their peak, they had players who could hold onto the ball and act as playmakers. Right now, Madrid doesn't have such players.
The midfield of Tchoumeni, Belligham, Valvede and Guler lacks controllers in midfield. Valverde and Belligham are good at winning balls, but they don't know how to make great use of the ball. Theyre players that can easily lose the ball if they are pressed and that is why they always struggle against a technical midfield that can press. We saw it against Barcelona and Arsenal and most recently, against PSG.
Until they fix the problem of pressing, ball retention and quick passing, they will struggle against any good team. The kind of football Xabi Alonso wants to play requires these qualities, and without them, they won't play well.
Real Madrid has always been a well-organized team, so Xabi Alonso doesn't have to work as hard as a good manager does to organize the team after taking charge of other teams. However, we have seen a lack of consistency in this team this season, and that may be for a specific reason. The club management never thought that so many important players would be injured for such a long time. The current team is in this state mainly because of injury problems. However, Xabi Alonso must be given time because he has only been in charge of Real Madrid for a few days and he will not be able to apply his best strategy to the team during this time. If he has to continue playing with his current team for another season, then this manager will have to change his plan and give the highest priority to protecting the defense. And if all those injured players return to the game, then this team will become an unstoppable team again.