5 reasons why Real Madrid are among the 2021/22 Champions League title contenders
A lot of Madridistas weren’t having highly hopeful before the start of this season, as one of the club’s biggest legends Zinedine Zidane had resigned from his post, and as the team’s starting centre-backs, the captain Sergio Ramos and Raphael Varane, both left the club. There weren’t many positive vibes before the start of the season, despite the return of a fan favourite manager in Carlo Ancelotti. The club was pretty much inactive in the transfer market, until the deadline week, which further added to the already low expectations.
Fast forward to December, Real Madrid are currently leading the LaLiga table, standing 8 points above the second-placed team, and have qualified for the UEFA Champions League knockout stages as the group winner, winning 5 out of the 6 group fixtures.
At this point, Real Madrid is a clear favourite to win the league, and they can also be considered as a contender for the UEFA Champions League. Even the manager Ancelotti believes the same, as he thinks that Real Madrid have the quality to compete for the Champions League title.
There are several reasons to see Real Madrid as a UCL contender, starting from the fact that they have a contingent of quality players and a perfect blend of experience and youth, with an excellent squad depth. All these reasons are kinda obvious reasons. Let us look at some more reasons, that have made Real Madrid look like a serious team this season.
Real Madrid have found a winning formula against big teams
Real Madrid’s last defeat was on the 3rd of October against Espanyol, and they’ve been performing at a great level since that bitter defeat in Catalonia. They haven’t lost a single game since then, and have been on a winning streak since the draw against Osasuna on 28th October. Carlo Ancelotti has got his combination right, and he is sticking to his winning formula.
The best part of this winning streak is that the team has managed to play well and win the game against a lot of big teams. They have won 7 out of the 8 league games that they have played against the current top 10 teams in LaLiga, including teams like Sevilla, Real Sociedad, Valencia, Athletic Bilbao, and FC Barcelona. They have also won both the games against Inter Milan in the group stages of the Champions League.
Their biggest test this season is coming up this weekend against Atletico Madrid in LaLiga, but Real Madrid have proved that they have the quality and character to get past the toughest of the teams. This is going to be important for the team in the future, as there will be a lot of top-class teams in the UCL, and no game will be an easy one.
The team hasn’t played against a team that has the quality of Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Liverpool or Chelsea, but they have definitely shown that they know how to clear the toughest of the challenges. Given the experience in the team, the big game performances will always be good.