Real Madrid have not been reaching their peak for several months, and critics say the team has handed in the towel too soon too often.
Last Tuesday, Carlo Ancelotti called out the squad for a breakdown in defensive discipline after the 4-2 loss to Girona. The performance was among the weakest of the campaign, especially after the break, leaving the defense exposed and unable to prevent conceding goals, despite a stretch of six games with a clean sheet prior to that defeat.
What many observers note is a sense that Real Madrid did not show the same level of intensity for La Liga this term. Following the Clasico at the Santiago Bernabéu on October 16, during matchday nine, the team appeared to relax, feeling their league responsibilities were largely completed before the World Cup hiatus. They pressed on for a short period after the restart but then lost ground in the run-up to Qatar, allowing Barcelona to seize the initiative and take the league lead.
There was ample time to correct course. A side that had won ten of its first eleven league matches should have been trusted to sustain momentum. Instead, Real Madrid showed notable inconsistency in the 2023 league campaign, enabling Barcelona to accumulate points with surprising ease and creating the impression that the title race could slip away. The statistics reflect this, with the team securing only half of their league wins this year (nine from eighteen), marking a swing from early confidence to a pronounced lag in results.
Fans and pundits alike called the recent results unbearable and unacceptable. The errors multiplied, and the team stopped collecting three points as consistently as before, allowing Barcelona to arrive at the season’s end with confidence and fewer worries. The losses to Villarreal, Girona, and Real Sociedad underscored a shift: since their meeting at Camp Nou, Real Madrid appeared to have lowered their guard and redirected energy toward cups and the Champions League rather than domestic supremacy.
If both La Liga and the cup competitions were to be clinched, some might argue the concern would fade. But with unresolved issues lingering, accountability would be demanded. Having already solved some fixtures against Chelsea and now facing the season’s most consequential matches, there is little room for an underwhelming performance that tarnishes the club’s professional image in the Montilivi and Reale Arena fixtures. Critics insist the second-half display did not reflect professional standards.