Why Real Madrid fans shouldn’t pаnic after their poor start to the La Liga season

Despite Real Madrid’s poor start to the 2024/25 La Liga season on Sunday evening, Madridistas should still have faith in Carlo Ancelotti’s side to defend their Spanish crown.

The expectations on Real Madrid before the 2024/25 season were always going to be high, especially after their success last year in the Champions League and La Liga, but the addition of Kylian Mbappe has multiplied the stakes.

With so much talent on the pitch (and on the bench), Carlo Ancelotti’s team entered the competition as the favorite to win La Liga this season, and had to face an early test in defending their title against Mallorca on Sunday, August 18. Even with Mbappe leading the line alongside Vinicius Jr. and Rodrygo, Los Blancos could only muster one goal and returned to Madrid with a disappointing 1-1 draw.

Inevitably, Real Madrid’s poor start to the season has sparked plenty of criticism, including from Ancelotti himself, but there are still many reasons not to pаnic after one poor performance.

No need to pаnic after Real Madrid’s poor start to the La Liga season

Real Madrid are still unbeaten in La Liga for a year

Despite Real Madrid’s awful draw against Mallorca, a team that finished 15th in La Liga last season, the Blancos are still unbeaten in their last 33 La Liga matches, the third-longest streak of all time.

In fact, their last La Liga defeat was back in September last year against Atletico Madrid, and Ancelotti’s side faced similar criticism to what they are dealing with currently. The team, however, bounced back from that poor result and won La Liga by a 10-point margin.

Mallorca’s disciplined low block was a learning experience

Ancelotti’s new attacking trio of Vinicius Jr., Kylian Mbappe and Rodrygo are still learning to play with each other and will benefit greatly from their inability to break down Mallorca’s low block.

Many teams in La Liga will be content to sit deep against Real Madrid in the hope of leaving with at least a point, and the players in white must adapt and create better chances in the final third when opponents pack ten players in the box.

The Blancos’ match against Mallorca showed the team exactly what isn’t working, and now, going forward, they have all the tools they need to make adjustments to their approach.

The same XI had won the UEFA Suρer Cup just four days prior

Real Madrid beаt Atalanta to win the UEFA Suρer Cup. 

In a much more open match against Atalanta, Ancelotti’s starting lineup performed well in the UEFA Suρer Cup and left Poland with a 2-0 victory over the reigning Europa League champions.

Four days later, the same team lineup started against Mallorca. Of course, the world’s best players should be capable of playing in such quick turnaround conditions, but half of Real Madrid’s squad only arrived in training a few days before the UEFA Suρer Cup after representing their country this summer at Euro 2024 and Copa America 2024.

As the team regains full fitness after their short summer break, a tiring and frustrating match like the one they played on Sunday will ideally not go as poorly, and the preferred XI will deliver a performance similar to the one against Atalanta.