Real Madrid: 3 Biggest Challenges in winning Champions League 2022/23
By Eesh Jhamb
All the leagues are getting interesting and so will UEFA Champions League. New signings, new managers and their new tactics. Every club is doing its best to stay forward, but Real Madrid is the only team with the perfect record so far in the top five leagues.
While the players are filled with confidence, one cannot just yet decide who will win the UEFA Champions League this season. Of course, Real Madrid is one of the favourites, always is. It will be interesting to see how Carlo Ancelotti and his men cope with the busiest of seasons.
I would bet on Real Madrid winning a second consecutive UEFA Champions League, but I cannot say that it will be an easy road for them. The club will face a lot of challenges, and I will be mentioning the three biggest challenges that the club will face:
3. Lack of depth in the attack:
Real Madrid made a signing in each defence and midfield to have good enough depth for the new season. But the attack is one such department which requires the most attention. Real Madrid made no signings in attack, and on the contrary, we saw some departures. Luka Jovic left Los Blancos to join Fiorentina, while Gareth Bale departed to the USA after the expiry of his contract at Real Madrid.
Now let’s look at the depth of attack. The team features natural strikers Karim Benzema and Mariano Diaz, left wingers Vinicius Junior, Marco Asensio, and Rodrygo Goes, and no natural right winger. When it comes to the right side of the attack, they only have Federico Valverde as the right midfielder and Rodrygo Goes to play in his non-preferred position and both the Uruguayan and Brazilian in a situation of conundrum. Marco Asensio, who just shifted to the side no longer has Carlo Ancelotti’s faith.
The last season, Real Madrid relied upon Karim Benzema and Vinicius Junior in the attack. But with a more hectic season, the players will have to improve their conditioning and not to say, there will be injuries. Let’s hope not, but we can’t predict the injuries.
Even in the lack of depth, the backup players do not have the quality to replace the first-choice ones, or at least support them.
The summer transfer window is now closed, and no options are open. This is not to say that Real Madrid should spend hundreds of millions on young potential players, but a cheaper alternative when the winter market opens could be preferred.
The approach of waiting till the World Cup to sign someone in the winter is a great one, and more practical. But if Real Madrid is 100% betting on that approach, then the club must act fast with the intention of spending a lot of bucks.