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Having begun the season in disastrous fashion which led to the sack of Julen Lopetegui, a bit of calm seems to have returned to Real Madrid since the appointment of former youth manager Santiago Solari.
The goals have returned and even though there are still some issues to iron out, the results have improved drastically (albeit with some shock defeats in between).
Having reached the midpoint of the current season, there are numerous players who have been utterly disappointing for Real, while others have shone like a million stars for Los Blancos. In this piece, we take a look at five players who have been top performers for Real Madrid so far this season.
#5 Vinicius Jr
Identified as the next superstar from Brazil, Real Madrid shelled out €45m for his services, with the then 16-year-old having barely featured for the senior team of Flamengo.
He arrived Real Madrid with just 69 senior appearances to his name and found it hard to get playing time, as former coach Lopetegui showed a distinct lack of trust in him.
Since Solari's appointment, however, the 18-year-old has seen an improvement in his playing time, as the 42-year-old gaffer has shown that he is not afraid to give youth a chance.
In 10 matches in all competitions this season, he has scored two goals while providing a further three assists, but it is for his directness and willingness to take on opposition defenders for which he has earned the most acclaim.
Solari seems to be biding his time to let Vinicius mature properly before unleashing him fully to terrorise opposition defences, but with his displays so far, he has shown that he is more than capable of handling the pressure of being a Real Madrid forward, especially seeing as Marco Asensio is horribly off-form.
#4 Karim Benzema
A rather shocking inclusion given how much scorn the Frenchman has received. It is a testament to how poorly Real Madrid's players have performed as a whole, such that Benzema's addition is pretty much a case of being the best of a bad bunch.
The Frenchman has been the subject of much criticism in recent years owing to his low goals returns and with the departure of Ronaldo, it was expected that he would be solid.
That, however, did not happen and Benzema started the season like a house on fire, scoring five goals in his first four matches to silence his critics. However, from then on, it all went downhill as he fell back into old habits and went on an 11-game scoreless run which coincided with Real Madrid's run of over eight hours without a goal.
Things improved for him alongside the club upon Solari's appointment and he has been on a fairly decent run of form since then, including scoring a brace in the 0-5 demolition of Victoria Plzen in the UCL.
In 26 matches in all competitions this season, Benzema has scored 11 goals and while those are not exactly world-class numbers, considering how poorly Real Madrid as a whole have been this season, it is enough to rank him among the club's top performers.
#3 Lucas Vazquez
The true definition of a utility player, Lucas Vazquez is primarily a winger, but has seen himself deployed in almost every position and is the first point of call whenever Real Madrid find themselves short of options in any wing.
A product of the Real Madrid youth academy, Vasquez was a very late bloomer, only making his first team debut in 2015 at the age of 24, having impressed on loan at Espanyol.
Since then, the 27-year-old has played his part (albeit not the most major roles) in Real's successes, including in their triumphs in each of the last three Champions League campaigns.
So far this season, the Spanish international has made 22 appearances in all competitions, with 14 of those coming in LaLiga.
He has scored two goals and provided one assist, but his contributions to the team has always been beyond stats, rather measured by his overall willingness to give his all to the team and tendency to sacrifice his personal glory for the progress of the club which he has done with this distinction this season and is more than a lot of his teammates can say.
#2 Marcos Llorente
Another benefactor of Solari's trust in youth. Marcos Llorente spent the entirety of the 2016/2017 season on loan at Alaves and impressed significantly in the Basque Country club.
He was used sparingly last season, but has seen himself take on an increased role this campaign, owing to the chance afforded him by Solari.
Indeed, Llorente's displays have been so dominant that he has allayed the fears which were expressed upon Casemiro sustaining an injury in November, as the 23-year-old has compensated for the loss of the extremely important Brazilian with his calmness on the ball and effective distribution.
Llorente started the final of the 2018 FIFA Club World Cup, scoring the second goal in the 4-1 win and was named man-of-the-match in the process.
A boyhood Real Madrid fan, Llorente has strong links to the club, with a substantial number of his family having represented the club including Francisco Gento (Great Uncle) and Paco Llorente (his father) and if he's to continue in this trajectory, he would undoubtedly put his name in the Los Blancos history books.
#1 Dani Carvajal
Arguably the standout right-back over the last four seasons, Dani Carvajal has been an essential part of Real Madrid's attacking arsenal since cementing his place in the first team in the 2013-14 season, with his bursting runs down the flanks and pin-point crosses proving too much for opposition defenders to handle.
Alongside Marcelo, Carvajal has helped Real triumph in numerous tournaments and has been an integral member of all of the club's successes in recent years.
His importance to the Real cause is perhaps best summed up by their woeful record without him this season. The 26-year-old has played in just nine of Real's 16 LaLiga matches this season, starting eight. Incredibly, Los Blancos have failed to win any of the matches which the Spanish international has not started in, drawing three and losing five (including the 3-0 loss to Eibar in which Carvajal came off the bench).
Carvajal has struggled with injuries this season, but amidst a season of underperforming players, the full-back is perhaps the only Real Madrid superstar who can genuinely claim not to have dropped his standards this season and the Bernabeu faithful would be pleased with the news of his return to fitness.
