Real Madrid must win their next six La Liga matches

Real Madrid have dug themselves into a hole in the title race with more dropped points, and now they cannot afford any slip-ups.

On Thursday night, Real Madrid will face Athletic Club in the semifinals of the Spanish Supercup in Malaga. Afterwards, they will have an easier matchup in the Copa del Rey. But then the grind in La Liga will continue on Jan. 23, as Real will have six straight league matches before their Champions League knockout stage opener against Atalanta.

Those La Liga fixtures loom large. Not because Real Madrid will face any title contenders in that span of time, but precisely because each of those six games is more than “winnable” for Los Blancos on paper. These six matches are the kinds of games a club like Real is expected to win.

I’d like to make a stronger claim. Real Madrid MUST win each of these matches. All of them. Wins. Not draws. Three points.

Of course, I understand that “expected to win” is a dangerous game. And it is with that understanding in mind that I make this claim. Los Blancos have failed to put away the opponents they are supposed to beat, whereas the current league leaders, Atletico Madrid, have finished off these lower-level teams with ease.

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Embarrassing losses to Deportivo Alaves, Cadiz, and Valencia earlier this season stand out, but Real Madrid must also answer for their recent draws that have marred an otherwise spotless record since that famed win over Borussia Monchengladbach.

Those draws are against Elche and Osasuna, who are both 18th and 19th, respectively. We can pile up the excuses about the snow or the absences on the wings, but no Madridista can seriously entertain any of those explanations. Real simply were not good enough in those matches, and a club that wants to win La Liga HAS to get three points against teams in the relegation zone.

In the next six matches, Los Blancos will face Deportivo Alaves, Levante, Huesca, Valencia, Getafe, and Real Valladolid. None of those six teams are in the top half of the table, and only Getafe look like they have any sort of shot at climbing up the table and making a challenge for the Europa League (thanks to the hope Takefusa Kubo brings to the table).

Real Madrid have to beat all of them. So far this season, they were only truly dominant against Huesca of those sides. Even in the case of their 2-0 win over Levante, they needed a late Karim Benzema winner to seal it, because they were so close to blowing the early lead Vinicius Junior gave them. Vinicius, likewise, bailed them out against Valladolid. Valencia and Alaves? Let’s not even go there. Real embarrassed themselves in those matches.

There is no margin for error now. Atleti are a well-oiled machine with an elite defense and a brilliant forward duo in Joao Felix and Luis Suarez. Diego Simeone has his men playing at their best. Real are capable of winning the league over Los Rojiblancos and showed they were the superior team in head-to-head competition.

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But if they want to prove they are the best team in La Liga, they have to win the types of games they will have in the next six league fixtures. Nothing less than 18 points out of six matches will suffice, because you never know which dropped points will haunt the team in the final Matchdays of the campaign. Now is the time for perfection. The cliche of “finals” begins early this season.

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