Real Madrid is drawn alongside Inter Milan, Shakhtar Donetsk, and FC Sheriff in Group D of the Champions League. Three members of the group remain the same as last season’s whereas Sheriff from Moldova comes in for Borussia Monchengladbach. This is bound to work in favor of the clubs who have already faced each other in the competition’s last edition.
As such, Real Madrid would be expected to win their group and advance into the knockout stages, as they did last time. This time, however, things would be a little different in a good way. Real’s Champions League run was pretty questionable last season, this season the signs have been more positive with Carlo Ancelotti improving the team’s offense. Here are the reasons why Real Madrid will win their Group before they advance into the knockout stages of the competition.
1. Real Madrid have already won their most difficult fixture in the group
Real Madrid was arguably up for their most difficult fixture on the very first Matchday of the Champions League. Inter Milan, away at the San Siro, things will not get any more tensed than that in this group for Real. And, luckily, they extracted the best result possible out of the match, a full quota of three points.
The win at San Siro will go on a long way to help Real Madrid in their campaign. The two other opponents that Real Madrid will face are Shakhtar and Sheriff. Sheriff – the first Moldovan club to feature in the competition – made a great start to their campaign with a 2-0 win over Shakhtar. Shakhtar, on the other hand, had beaten Real on both occasions last season. And, Los Blancos would be looking at revenge against the Ukrainian club.
With all that being taken into account, I think Real Madrid’s newfound goal-scoring and counter-attacking style of play that we have seen in the season thus far should keep these opponents at bay. These are clubs with less experience on the European stage and will struggle against the very best in the competition. Los Blancos should attain comfortable home victories and will look to extract points off the away fixtures as well, and that should be enough for them to win their group.