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#3 Gareth Bale's return
The attacker spent last season on loan at Tottenham Hotspur, where he impressed with a return of 16 goals and three assists for the Premier League side across all competitions. He returned to the Santiago Bernabeu this summer with the aim of taking up a significant role for the club next season.
Bale shone under Ancelotti during their first stint together and the tactician is looking up to him for solutions in attack next season. The winger appears to have put his injury crisis behind him and that spells nothing but doom for opposition defenses. He featured in the goalless draw with AC Milan, showing flashes of brilliance before making way for Vinicius Junior at half-time.
#2 The midfield remains hot
In the 2-1 loss to Rangers, Ancelotti decided to experiment with a trio of Antonio Blanco, Martin Odegaard and Isco but it didn't turn out well. Los Blancos played catch-up to the Scottish side for most of the game as they failed to dominate proceedings from the middle.
Luka Modric, Casemiro and Isco were given the nod in the subsequent game versus AC Milan and it worked wonders. The Spanish giants dominated the center zone easily, with nice link-up play and composure.
Luka Modric was a constant threat to the Italians throughout the game. The Croatian went very close to finding the back of the net shortly after the restart but was unfortunate to see his long-range effort hit the crossbar. Casemiro dealt well with the incoming pressure and Isco put up a decent performance as well.
#1 Significant improvement in the second game
While it's true that Real Madrid put up a lackluster display in their clash with Rangers, the same cannot be said of the subsequent match against AC Milan. In fact, the team improved drastically when Ancelotti deployed the right people for the job.
The Galacticos enjoyed 54% of the possession on the night and recorded a 90% passing accuracy, winning nine corner kicks. They really showed that they wanted the win, firing a whopping 19 shots on goal throughout the game, with six of those on target. Modric struck the woodwork and Gareth Bale could've put the team ahead as well, but the Welshman missed from the spot at the 40th-minute mark.
