Real Madrid progress report: Best players, underachievers and season performance so far

They say if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Real Madrid have been the defining club in Europe over the past ten years, winning multiple Champions League crowns - their most recent triumph coming with a new-look team filled to the brim with prodigious talents - and establishing themselves as the leading side in Spain.

However, after last season's double-winning success, things have not gone so swimmingly for manager Carlo Ancelotti. Kylian Mbappe's arrival has caused tactical conundrums, while an injury crisis has exposed some gaps in their squad depth.

Here's how Madrid's start to the campaign has gone and what we can expect from Los Blancos during the remainder of the season.

Performance so far

Madrid's campaign started as well as it can for pretty much any club around the world, scooping the UEFA Super Cup against Atalanta as Kylian Mbappe scored on his debut.

Los Blancos went unbeaten in all competitions until early October, sticking in the La Liga title race as Barcelona surged into an early lead having beaten Stuttgart in their Champions League opener. However, a defeat to Lille showed a few chinks in their armour before a three-game winning streak was sensationally broken in El Clasico as Barca surged to a 4-0 triumph at the Bernabeu.

Another defeat to Milan had Madrid feeling existential with clear issues regarding Mbappe and Vinicius Junior's compatibility starting to emerge. While they managed to bounce back with a 4-0 thumping of Osasuna before the November international break, injuries to the likes of Dani Carvajal, Eder Militao, David Alaba and Thibaut Courtois among others have proved to be thoroughly damaging.

Best players

Madrid usually have a few contenders when it comes to player of the season time, but the options are a little more sparse in 2024/25 than usual.

While the attack is yet to click into gear, there can be no doubting Vinicius Junior's enduring quality and importance to the team. The Brazil superstar has netted two hat-tricks - one which helped Madrid overturn a 2-0 deficit against Borussia Dortmund - and has been the difference-maker when his side have needed one.

While seemingly every defender around him has been struck down by an injury, Antonio Rudiger is still standing tall at the back. There's little the German can do about the absences and the collective impact they have had, but Rudiger remains as determined as ever at centre-back and even has two goals in the Champions League.

Underachievers

There's still so much time left in the season that these players need not fear about the campaign being a write-off just yet, but there's no doubting that some stars have not produced the quality performances they are capable of, whether that be through system problems or otherwise.

Given his status as arguably the best player in the world before his free transfer from Paris Saint-Germain, Kylian Mbappe's first few months in a Madrid shirt have been disappointing. Even with eight goals from 16 games, the France captain has got in Vinicius' way as both stars like playing from the left and hasn't looked completely comfortable when deployed in a central role.

Jude Bellingham was banging in the goals at this time last year but the issues between Mbappe and Vinicius have seen his final-third threat diminish this term, while fellow midfielders Aurelien Tchouameni and Federico Valverde have been well below their expected levels.

Season expectations

There can be no ruling out trophies when it comes to Real Madrid. The Spanish giants are serial winners and have made worse starts to a season in the past and still recovered to win all sorts of silverware.

That said, there should be no overlooking their problems right now. If Ancelotti can't find a way for Vinicius and Mbappe to coexist and thrive together, they may not finish the campaign at the top of the pile either in Spain or Europe.

Injuries in defence could easily wreck Madrid's campaign if they're unlucky enough, but they've shown plenty of resilience in the past and you'd be a fool to write them off just yet.

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