Features
Real Madrid 2023/24 season preview: Squad update, key players, critical fixtures, expectations
Life comes fast at you as a Real Madrid player. With a low margin for error, the continuous spotlight, and nowhere to hide, it surely cannot be easy to perform at the highest level day in and day out.
Last season, the Merengues had their moments. Karim Benzema’s one-man show at Spotify Camp Nou, the demolition of Liverpool at Anfield, and the ruthless Copa del Rey run are some of the instances that spring to mind as the highs.
Yet, the 2022/23 campaign will go down as one of the troughs on Real Madrid’s curve. Such are the elite standards at a club of its stature.
Last year, Los Blancos fell significantly short of Barcelona in La Liga through sheer inconsistency in the competition.
They were embarrassed in the UEFA Champions League by Pep Guardiola’s Manchester City and finished the season with just the Copa del Rey and the FIFA Club World Cup to show.
As the men in white step onto the turf for a new season, the highs and lows of last season undeniably will run in the back of their minds. The only objective – to top it with a more resilient and golden run.
Carlo Ancelotti’s side enjoyed a mixed pre-season run with a 50% win percentage. Yet, pre-season friendlies are less about the results and more centred around the manager’s experimentation with his squad.
The tour to the USA leaves the team with sufficient food for thought and a strong drive to work better heading into the season opener.
Squad equation
There has been quite a change in personnel for Carlo Ancelotti heading into the new season. Not many saw the surprise departures of the summer transfer window coming, but it is safe to say that Los Blancos are largely improved in terms of quality at the end of the transactions.
Karim Benzema is undoubtedly the biggest loss for the men in white. The Frenchman appeared set to renew his deal with the club but opted for a lucrative move to Saudi Arabia instead.
Some of the other notable departures include Marco Asensio, Eden Hazard, Mariano Diaz, and Jesus Vallejo.
In return, Los Blancos gained the services of high-rated English midfielder Jude Bellingham who has created incredible sensations in the pre-season.
Arda Guler is yet another bet for the future. The administration toiled to get over the line for the teenage Turkish sensation. He is currently injured but will be a lethal force once back in action.
Fran Garcia and Brahim Diaz are two ex-Real Madrid players who have returned to help take forward Carlo Ancelotti’s project. The former will be the starting left-back this season while the latter serves as an able option for the forward positions.
The club also roped in Joselu to make up for the departure of Benzema although it is seemingly impossible to replace the French star’s genius.
In a more recent development, Los Blancos’ first-choice goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois suffered a potentially season-ending injury by rupturing his ACL. It remains to be seen who the club sign to fill his shoes.
Important fixtures
Every game is a final at Real Madrid. There is simply no room for excuses at the Spanish capital, for even a draw is seen as nothing less than a loss.
Yet, the calendar brings its share of big fixtures from the get-go. These nights will be the ones when the spotlight will shine brightest on Ancelotti’s stars and the pressure will be the highest.
Here are some of the biggest fixtures Real Madrid will play in La Liga this season.
Atletico Madrid vs Real Madrid – 24th September 2023 (Matchday 6)
Barcelona vs Real Madrid – 29th October 2023 (Matchday 11)
Real Madrid vs Atletico Madrid – 4th February 2023 (Matchday 23)
Real Madrid vs Barcelona – 21st April 2023 (Matchday 32)
Key players
Jude Bellingham
The 20-year-old signed for Real Madrid this summer in a move worth over €100 million and is the club’s bet to take over the attacking midfield role. He has shown an exceptional level in pre-season thus far and is even seen as a regular starter by Ancelotti.
In a season where Los Blancos could potentially be without a central striker, the onus of creating better chances will fall on the new signing’s shoulders. Moreover, the former Borussia Dortmund star is more than capable of finding the back of the net himself.
Vinicius Jr.
The Brazilian phenom has become synonymous with Real Madrid in recent seasons and has proven to be a complete package for his manager. Now, it is time for Vinicius to take up more responsibility.
In the absence of Benzema, the youngster will be tasked with leading the Merengues’ forward line and must maximise his output in front of goal. It will not be easy for him, however, considering that he might have to adapt to a new role in Ancelotti’s 4-4-2 setup.
Federico Valverde
Last season, Ancelotti gave the Uruguayan international an objective to score at least ten goals in the campaign as he sought to push him into a more advanced role.
The 25-year-old started the season with a bang and scored four goals in just his first nine appearances. Yet, his output tapered off towards the end of the season and he completed the term with 13 goals to his name.
With the competition in midfield now more gruelling than ever, it will be up to Valverde to prove his worth. If he shines bright, he could define Real Madrid’s season.
Emerging talents
Real Madrid Castilla has several youngsters knocking on the first-team doors. However, very few will make the cut into Ancelotti’s plans.
One player well placed in that aspect is Nico Paz. The 18-year-old Argentine sensation has impressed the manager with his level in pre-season training and is one to keep an eye out for this season.
Arda Guler is another candidate as the team’s emerging player of the season. The teenage sensation suffered an injury early in his Real Madrid career, but if reports are anything to go by, there is serious quality in his boots.
Challenges for the manager
The 2023/24 campaign will be a challenging affair for Ancelotti. A lot of the team’s success will boil down to his tactical adjustments and man-management through the season.
For starters, the Italian tactician is tasked with finding the right formula for his team. With key forwards departing and a sudden influx of quality midfielders, it is essential that Los Blancos find a way to optimise their strengths on the field for the collective good.
The 4-4-2 setup has tempted Ancelotti on that front. The novel system fits the midfielders well, but it compromises the quality of Vinicius Jr and Rodrygo who are dragged into uncomfortable central roles.
Concurrently, there is the evergreen challenge of changing guard. Real Madrid are in the process of phasing out veteran stars for younger options gradually.
This season, it will be up to Ancelotti to slowly reduce the dependence on the likes of Toni Kroos and Luka Modric and hand the mantle to the upcoming stars.
The final big challenge for the coach is the defensive setup. Real Madrid’s new 4-4-2 structure inherently brings with it a higher risk of defensive lapses. With Thibaut Courtois likely to miss the entire season, the spotlight will shine brighter than ever on the team’s defensive stability.
Season objectives
If Europe’s elite aim for the sky, Real Madrid aim for the stars. There is seldom a concept of satisfaction in the Spanish capital, with every loss considered a failure.
The men in white will thus push as primary contenders for every competition they compete in. Yet, there are some specific objectives they would like to complete this campaign.
In recent years, the Merengues have earned the title of being knockout kings. They never fail to deliver under pressure and find ways to come back even with the world against them.
Yet, they have not enjoyed nearly as much success in La Liga. Last season, Real Madrid struggled to maintain consistency in the competition and constantly fell to surprise defeats. This season, Ancelotti must ensure that the league is not sacrificed for other objectives.
The UEFA Champions League is the club’s perennial aim and will no doubt be at the top of their wishlist. Yet, as history has it, the UCL is wildly unpredictable.
Features
Clean sheet at last, Vinicius’ moment of madness | Three takeaways from Real Madrid 1-0 Villarreal
Real Madrid took all three points against Villarreal on Saturday night to get back on track after the international break, and thus ensured they did not continue sinking after the defeat at the Madrid derby.
Jose Mourinho made some bold decisions in his starting XI as he benched Vinicius Jr., playing Yan Diomande on the left-flank and Arda Guler on the right flank.
The dynamics worked out decently well, and it was eventually the new record signing who scored for the club to hand them the lead and the win.
Compared to performances before the international break, there was an improvement in terms of Real Madrid’s level, but the team are still far off from where they must be to make a strong case to be title contenders.
Madrid Universal brings you three takeaways from Real Madrid 1-0 Villarreal.
The struggle continues
All of Real Madrid’s season so far has been of struggles and difficult wins, and the same theme continued last night as the team returned from the international break.
Los Blancos have failed to look convincing for a long time now, and they did not dominate Villarreal in any capacity last night as well.
Continuing with the same theme of winning by narrow margins and scraping past the finish line, they registered yet another 1-0 win that did not leave anyone convinced.
Yan Diomande’s goal was the only positive takeaway from the night, and even that was made possible only after a narrow offside decision went in their favor. With the firepower they have, struggling to create chances to such an extent seems inexcusable.
With a difficult month ahead, last night’s game did not give fans any reason to believe matters have changed after the international break. At this rate, the coming month could be a bleak one for Los Blancos.
Vinicius’ moment of madness
Of all the events that transpired at the Santiago Bernabeu last night, the most memorable one was the incident involving Vinicius Jr.’s goal, and embarrassingly so.
Having seemingly scored a great goal ten minutes after Diomande’s opener, the Brazilian star was on his way to celebrate the achievement, but what unfolded thereafter was embarrassing.
The VAR found an incident of Vinicius pulling the hair of a Villarreal player for no apparent reason in the build-up to the goal, and at this point there can be no arguments defending the player’s behavior.
As one of the biggest names of one of Europe’s biggest clubs, there has to be a sense of responsibility in one’s role – something Vinicius simply does not seem to have. What he did last night was simply inexcusable.
A lot can be said about VAR’s selective interference, but what cannot be argued is that what Vinicius did last night was a clear red card offense.
He will now miss El Clasico and will serve at least a two-game suspension. Whether that is a boon or a bane for Real Madrid, at this point, remains unknown and only time will tell.
A clean sheet at last
Ahead of last night’s win over Villarreal, Real Madrid had only overseen one clean sheet in eight games across competitions.
In that sense, simply keeping the opposition from scoring last night was an achievement in itself for Los Blancos, and it could not have come at a better time.
Real Madrid entered the game without many of their regular defenders available, especially with Dean Huijsen suspended and Eder Militao and Raul Asencio out through injury.
Ibrahima Konate and Antonio Rudiger, thus, started in central defense on the night and both did phenomenally well for Los Blancos. They were joined by Alvaro Carreras and Trent Alexander-Arnold, both of whom complemented the duo well.
The right-back was a relatively weak link defensively, but Konate and Rudiger were spot-on with their reading of the game to keep the Villarreal attack from scoring. They both did eventually pick up yellow cards, but Villarreal finished the game without a single big chance created.
Finding defensive stability, which is the cornerstone of Mourinho’s project, is massive for the manager, and he will be pleased to have a new working formula.
What happens after Huijsen’s return, however, remains to be seen, as the manager may well like to hand the new duo some more chances to prove their consistency.
