The beginning of a new cycle at Real Madrid

Real Madrid players celebrate European Super Cup triumph

Real Madrid began their transfer activity this summer by sending Casemiro on loan to FC Porto to gain some experience. On the same day, Morata was sold to Juventus, leaving the club with just one proper #9 in Karim Benzema. Fortunately though, Chicharito was signed on loan on deadline day as a backup to the Frenchman, bringing a sigh of relief to the Madridistas.

Immediately after the completion of the World Cup, Perez was quick to sign three star performers from the tournament - Toni Kroos, James Rodriguez, Keylor Navas. Navas' signing ultimately lead to the departure of Diego Lopez. And James was bought because of Di Maria's willingness to depart and that ultimately did happen when Di Maria moved to Manchester United. The most shocking transfer was the departure of Xabi Alonso to Bayern Munich.

Effect Of Transfers - Early Season Blip

The club replaced Lopez with Navas, who is at par with Lopez, if not better. So that wasn't the concern. But the move was extremely controversial as many wanted club legend, Iker Casillas, to move out instead of Lopez. The major concern lied in the other two changes-Ancelotti lost his best player in the 2nd half of last season and his only experienced holding midfielder together. That was like the entire midfield gone at once. Ancelotti had his work cut out.

Real Madrid romped past Sevilla to win the European Super Cup with Modric Kroos and James in midfield. Even though it wasn't much of a difficult game for whites, the warning signs were there. Sevilla time and again threatened to take advantage of our lack of steel in midfield but failed due to the lack of quality (Rakitic had just left them).

Since then Real Madrid lost twice in three games to city rivals Atlético and drawing one. And also relinquished a 2-0 lead at San Sebastian to ultimately lose 4-2 to Real Sociedad. Just one win since the European super cup triumph and that too a 2-0 win against newly promoted Cordoba. In such a short time, Real Madrid had not only lost the Spanish Super Copa but also fell 6 points behind the la liga leaders. In all those games, Ancelotti had tried all possible combinations but nothing seemed to be working. Set pieces was always a concern but with almost no steel in midfield after Xabi's departure, the defence was exposed time and again. Angel's departure meant the bite in attack was missing with James not being able to fit in straightaway and Ronaldo troubled by injuries early on.

Ancelotti's Recovery Plan

Little flashback into the last season- Ancelotti stuck to the Modric, Alonso and Di Maria trio in midfield despite their failures early on. Ancelotti's idea was clear- to convert Di Maria into a box to box midfielder, he needed to play there more often and eventually it paid off. This season it is quite clear that Kroos, James, Modric, Bale, Benzema and Ronaldo are his 6 best players in attack and midfield. He had started with the combination of these 6 against Atlético in the league, lost, and still stuck to the same front 6 against Basel, in the champions league. His intent was clear- play them together as much as possible so that they can improve the chemistry. And it did work,

Real Madrid thrashed Basel 5-1 and then crushed Deportivo 2-8 at Riazor with the same combination of the front 6. Ancelotti's plan was working, the attack had gelled well, created a lot of chances and scored a lot of goals. James was slowly adjusting to his new position, as a left sided central midfielder and his attitude was clear, he was ready to put in good defensive shifts. But defensive problems still remained and Ancelotti still had a lot of work to do.

4-4-2 As A Remedy To The Defensive Problems

After the attack had settled down, Ancelotti shifted his focus on defence. Since he had no experienced holding midfielder, he had decided to call upon his "old friend", the 4-4-2. 4 midfielders provide a lot more cover in comparison to the 3. For the Elche game, he rested Modric and Benzema, and replaced them with Illarramendi and Isco. Ronaldo and Bale in attack. Isco and James played as the two side midfielders, their talents on the ball are unquestionable, but what's commendable is their work off the ball. Those two were always willing to run around and put in good defensive shifts whenever needed.

Although Benzema was rested, the attack was flawless, the team registered a comprehensive 5-1 win. In the next game against Villarreal, Ancelotti reverted back to his "best 6". But with one major modification, though they started with a 4-3-3, he wanted the team to play 4-4-2 off the ball, Bale was asked to play a hybrid role, right wing forward (while attacking) and right sided midfielder (while defending).

It isn't easy to make such transitions so quickly and Bale struggled a bit but the team managed to win narrowly against Villarreal and Ludogorets, in the champions league, where again Ancelotti implemented the same tactics as in the Villarreal game, albeit a few changes in personnel. Once again Ancelotti used the same tactics against Athletic Bilbao at the Bernabéu. This time Bale looked better, although he could've done better in finishing, and Real Madrid were absolutely rampant, creating chances at will and finished the game with 5-0 win. The new system gives more freedom to Kroos than what Xabi had last season thus adding more variety to the attack.

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Madrid’s 4-3-3 while attacking and 4-4-2 while defending.

Rotation Policy

Carlo Ancelotti is a manager who is well known for his rotation policy. He did it last season and he is doing it now as well. Non-regulars like Varane, Arbeloa, Illarramendi and Isco have all had their chances. By doing so, Ancelotti has managed to keep the players fresh and has maintained a good morale in the entire dressing room, something which has always been an issue at Real Madrid given the number of quality players in the squad.

Best Player

Cristiano Ronaldo: He has been undoubtedly the best player so far and unlike last season, he seems to have no problems in adjusting to a more central role whenever needed. He has also been creating a lot of chances for his team mates. Ancelotti must be relieved to finally have him fully fit. 8 appearances - 15 goals - 2 assists. His stats speaks for him.

New Signings' Analysis

James: He looks to be playing better in every passing game. He has adjusted to a more defensive role than he is used to. Has shown that he is willing to work hard and run around chasing the ball and/or opponents when the team needs it. Will only get better. Looks like a very good buy.

Navas: Just one start and hence not apt to judge him yet. Have to wait till he gets his chances.

Kroos: Filling Xabi's boots is never easy, more so when you've never played that role before. But still, he has done a decent job. He has been able to successfully orchestrate the play from deep in midfield but needs to improve defensively.

Chicharito: Scored a couple goals as a sub and both came from outside the box against Deportivo. But it's quite clear he isn't going to be a starter. His only start came against Ludogorets and he was very poor that night.

Weakness

It's safe to say the team has come over that early season blip but still has a few weaknesses. One being defending against set pieces. Second, no defensive minded midfielder and two marauding full backs (when both Carvajal and Marcelo plays) exposes the central defence and Casillas very often.

One way to control that damage is by playing both James and Isco or if Bale improves his defensive duties and performs the hybrid role well. But the team has shown they are capable of out-scoring their oppositions. 35 goals in 12 matches, is a testament to that ability.

A couple of months into the new season and we can well see what Ancelotti said earlier, makes sense. It is indeed the beginning of a new cycle and a very important. Real Madrid are still a work-in-progress but the team is safe in Ancelotti's experienced hands.