Real Madrid had an excellent month of February with five wins in five matches, but they were never truly challenged by top competition. Their biggest match was a Champions League Round of 16 fixture against Atalanta at the Gewiss Stadium, but they struggled to a 1-0 win despite going up against only 10 men for more than 70 minutes.
On March 1 at the Estadio Alfredo Di Stefano, Real Madrid needed late-game heroics from Fede Valverde, Lucas Vazquez, and goal-scorer Vinicius Junior to rescue a point against Real Sociedad in a game that frustrated many Madridistas.
Los Blancos need to regroup and win this weekend against Atletico Madrid in order to ensure they are still in the thick of the title race. A loss to Los Rojiblancos could dash their hopes at winning back-to-back league titles. And Barcelona are now tied on points with Real following the 1-1 draw with La Real.
There are reasons to believe Real Madrid can pull off another league conquest and also advance far in the Champions League, but Los Blancos must improve in several phases of their game in order to push the envelope and reach their potential.
Here are three ways Los Merengues can get better down the stretch of the 2020-2021 La Liga and Champions League campaigns.