Julen Lopetegui is more of a victim but might become an early scapegoat

Real Madrid finally won after a horrific run since their defeat against Sevilla but Lopetegui seemed more distraught than ever. It was an unconvincing victory against a way weaker side in the UEFA Champions League and it seems Lopetegui has lost all his faith. His head was down and even when he cheered for his players, it was quite clear that his morale was at an all time low.

And why not? He lost the Spain's job two days before the World Cup and will probably get sacked from Real Madrid, all in the span of five months. It is almost clear that he will be sacked - maybe not today or tomorrow but eventually. Florentino Perez is not a man known for his patience, but the lack of proper replacements and with El Clasico looming around the corner, may force his hand.

The whole football world is familiar with how Real Madrid works. Times at the Santiago Bernabeu are chaotic no matter how many trophies they might have won in the last few seasons - it quickly becomes a thing of the past.

There is only one way forward and Julen Lopetegui certainly knew the risks when he jumped in to accept this 'once in a lifetime' offer from Florentino Perez. Little more than 150 days later, he finds himself at the lowest and most criticized point of his career.

Nothing is going right for Julen Lopetegui.

It is evident that Lopetegui's Real Madrid team is much weaker than at least six of his predecessors. Even Rafael Benitez got better players when he arrived. Real Madrid lost their talisman, Cristiano Ronaldo and it seemed Florentino Perez had no plans to replace their highest goalscorer in history.

Without Cristiano, Real Madrid have already hit the post 11 times this season and have gone on to see one of the worst goalless streak in their history. Add to that, there were no replacements for Mateo Kovacic just like there weren't any for Alvaro Morata, James Rodriguez and Pepe.

It's not like there are not forwards in Real Madrid, just not the transfers Lopetegui asked for. Rodrigo Moreno is still at Valencia and Mariano is miles behind to take on the mantle left by Cristiano Ronaldo. Improper planning led to an inactive transfer window from Florentino Perez and his men which is one of the reasons for Real Madrid's failures this season.

Real Madrid seemed to have underestimated his impact.

It seemed to be going right for a moment initially but it changed all after that loss against Sevilla. That's how life comes at Real Madrid, fastest and in the cruelest ways possible. Injuries to key players like Marcelo and Isco added to the woes and Madrid were handed defeats by relatively weaker teams like Alaves, Levante and CSKA Moscow.

It is normal that names are already spinning around with the likes of Antonio Conte or even the likes of Guti, Xabi Alonso and Santiago Solari. No one expected this downfall from the team who won three consecutive UEFA Champions League and certainly, Perez didn't. But it's likely that he is not the man to tolerate three league defeats in four games and let the title slip away so quickly.

Call it misfortune because of injuries and lack of efficiency of the forwards or blame it on Julen Lopetegui's poor decisions, the only way to get things going seems to sack the already defeated guy. There is no doubt that the players are to be blamed for this poor run of performances but as always, the coach is only left to be the scapegoat.

Come Sunday night, Real Madrid may celebrate an El Clasico victory against their rivals, FC Barcelona. The unpredictability adds to the essence of life and football but the football world is not sure whether Julen Lopetegui would be celebrating. Life is cruel and more so, in the case of Lopetegui. However, no matter who comes to take charge, they will have a massive number of things to repair or replace.