Real Madrid know why they lost to Barcelona, but fixing the issues isn’t easy

The defeat in the Supercopa de Espana final hurt Real Madrid given how inferior they were to Barcelona.

It was not an entirely unexpected loss given how the team arrived for the four-club tournament in Saudi Arabia, as acknowledged by Carlo Ancelotti in the post-Clasico press conference in Riyadh. This self-criticism has also been made in private, both by the coaching staff and the players.

Ancelotti and his staff admit the pain and hurt that came with Sunday’s 3-1 loss to their arch-rivals, and that to bounce back from it requires unity and more work. There are concerns about the team’s dynamic and physical condition, and it was also discussed how demanding the upcoming fixture schedule will be.

With the Club World Cup being held in February, Real Madrid could play up to 12 matches from now until the end of next month (however, some of these fixtures may be moved). Their semi-final in Morocco is on February 8, with the final or third-place play-off three days later.

Madrid themselves highlighted the upcoming fixture congestion on their website on Monday, giving prominence to the situation with a piece titled “The calendar until the Club World Cup”.

“Real Madrid will play at least five games before the Club World Cup,” it was remarked.

Ancelotti believes improvements are needed in all areas of the pitch, with the exception of goalkeeper. The most necessary aim is to regain defensive solidity; from there, they will look to rebuild.

However, there will remain a focus on the forward line: Karim Benzema is back, and has scored five times since the World Cup break, but more goals are required from Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo, Marco Asensio and even Federico Valverde, given Eden Hazard and Mariano are not considered parts of the first-team squad. Between them, only Benzema and Rodrygo (one, against third-tier Cacereno) have scored in the five matches the club have played after the World Cup.

Another of the elements analysed is the impact of the absence of midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni who stayed in Madrid with a calf injury instead of travelling to Riyadh. Although the performances of Toni Kroos in that position are greatly valued, the team function best with a pure defensive pivot and lack a vital balance both in defence and attack when Tchouameni is out.

The coaches recognise certain limitations in the squad, and it should be noted that there were already weaknesses at the time of Ancelotti’s return to the Bernabeu for a second spell as coach in the summer of 2021.

Since then, the transfer strategy has stuck to a considered plan; understanding the priorities and, at times, the reticence of the board. This will not change this month — the plan remains that there will be no signings in the current window. The squad is valued and this group of players are absolutely capable of a resurgence in form to retain the La Liga title.

You only need to look at last season, where these limitations were also evident. Of course, everything went rather well as Real completed the La Liga and Champions League double thanks to talent, effort and the bond between everyone at the club. But… “All this did was cover up the real situation,” a source, speaking under anonymity to protect their position at Madrid, tells The Athletic.