Four games in and four wins have taken Real Madrid to the top of the La Liga table on 12 points, two ahead of Barcelona and Villarreal and, at the time of writing, Los Blancos have just got their 2022/23 Champions League campaign off to a winning start.
So with a perfect set of La Liga 2022 results in the bag and a smooth opening to their European campaign, Madrid have a great foundation to work on. But what are the key factors in Carlo Ancelotti’s early success?
Well, here are my five takeaways from Real Madrid’s first four games in their quest to win back to back league titles.
Vinicius Junior and Benzema form a lethal partnership
While Barcelona’s summer signing Robert Lewandowski has been dominating the headlines, already topping the race for the Golden Boot on five goals alongside Celta Vigo veteran Iago Aspas, Ancelotti is more than happy with his front two as Vinicius Junior and Karim Benzema have started in superb form.
With three goals and an assist each, they look ready to emulate their efforts of last season when the Frenchman won the Golden Boot and his Brazilian apprentice tracked him for much of the campaign.
The only caveat is that Benzema picked up a first half injury in Real’s Champions League opener against Celtic, so we’ll keep an eye on that one.
Tchouameni is ready made
Ancelotti did his business early in the transfer window, bringing in centre-back Antonio Rudiger and defencive midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni to bolster his already highly talented squad. And Tchouameni has settled in at the Santiago Bernabeu as if he’s been there for years.
Los Blancos paid a huge €80-M to Monaco for their man, rising to a possible €100-M and that could be a smart piece of business.
The 22-year-old France star was brought in to challenge Casemiro for the deep-lying midfield spot, but Real sold the 30-year-old to Manchester United for £70-M, so the Spaniards have emerged from the two transactions very nicely indeed.
The sale of Casemiro to Manchester United has given Tchouameni an immediate opportunity and he looks determined to take it.
Modric as excellent as ever
His mate Casemiro may have departed, but veteran midfielder Luka Modric is still an integral part of Ancelotti’s plans. The Croatian wizard has been influential as ever in Los Blancos’ opening and has weighed in with two special goals.
In the win away to Celta Vigo, Modric scored the crucial second goal with a screamer from outside the penalty area into the top corner. And, in the victory over Celtic last night, he showed all his guile by taking a ball from Eden Hazard before cutting inside before stroking it into the corner of the net with the outside of his boot.
Pure class.
A message to Real’s rivals
Los Blancos had a relatively gentle opening to the campaign with matches against Almeria, Espanyol, and Celta Vigo. But then, a meeting with in-form Real Betis was a good test of where Los Blancos are, and they came through with a 2-1 win to end Betis’ perfect start.
The latest La Liga 2022 betting odds see this as a two-horse race between Los Blancos and Barcelona, though Atletico Madrid may have something to say about that, and both their rivals would have loved to see Betis peg Los Blancos back. But Ancelotti’s men found a way to win which is what Champions do.
Here at SBOTOP, we’ll be following the twists and turns throughout the La Liga campaign but Real Madrid are already on the right road.
Relentless Real
After Real Betis star Sergio Canales had equalised Vinicius Junior’s opener in last week’s top of the table clash, the score stayed at 1-1 until midway through the second half when Rodrygo latched on to a ball from Federico Valverde and fired home the winner.
Los Blancos have been forced to keep plugging away in all their four victories so far and they have reaped their rewards.
In Real’s match away to Espanyol, the game was at 1-1 on 88 minutes when Benzema scored a brace, and against Celta Vigo Los Blancos were again pegged back after taking an early lead. But when Luka Modric restored Real’s advantage, they didn’t look back and ran out 4-1 winners.
The season started in a similar vein. Madrid had to fight back in their opening game away to new boys Almeria who lead through Largie Ramazani for almost an hour. But second half goals from Lucas Vazquez and David Alaba, with a brilliant free kick 15 minutes from time, saved Los Blancos from slipping on the very first banana skin.
So they have not had it all their own way but Real have been relentless and come through every time.
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