This summer was the start of a new era at Real Madrid.
The departure of Karim Benzema, coupled with the signing of Jude Bellingham, saw Madrid switch away from their famous 4-3-3 setup in favour of a 4-1-2-1-2 diamond, and the results were mixed. Victories over AC Milan and Manchester United were soon followed by thumping defeats at the hands of Barcelona and Juventus, with manager Carlo Ancelotti ultimately rating pre-season a 6/10.
Here’s a look at the winners and losers from Madrid’s eventful pre-season.
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When Madrid part with an initial €103m (£88.5m) and change their entire formation just to sign you, you better be good.
Fortunately for Jude Bellingham, he is very good.
Playing major minutes in a handful of different positions across the midfield, Bellingham looked right at home playing on one of the biggest stages in football, even bagging his first unofficial goal for the club against Man Utd.
Brahim Diaz’s return to Madrid and subsequent contract extension felt almost like a new signing, but the Spaniard found it hard to live up to the billing this summer.
45 minutes against Milan to open the summer was as good as it got for Brahim, who played just 50 minutes over the three games that followed as Ancelotti clearly put his focus on developing Bellingham instead of him.
With the injured Arda Guler also the talk of the town, minutes in attacking midfield appear set to be incredibly hard to find for Brahim.
Fran Garcia came back to Madrid insisting he had what it took to start for Ancelotti’s side, and just four games later, he has proved his point.
Initially rotating his minutes with Ferland Mendy, Garcia got the nod when the Frenchman went down injured against Barcelona. His marauding performances from left-back really caught the eye and it’s hard to see him not playing a major role as the season progresses.
For a reported €5m (£4.3m), this could go down as the signing of the summer.
Dani Carvajal has been a divisive figure among Madrid fans for years now, but some of his supporters turned into sceptics this summer after some mixed performances from the right-back.
El Clasico against Barcelona was particularly rough for the 31-year-old, who looked to be running through treacle as Alejandro Balde breezed past him at every given opportunity.
Supporters are crying out for a new right-back, with many not even bothered who is signed to replace Carvajal.
Last season didn’t go to plan for Aurelien Tchouameni, who has been the subject of countless nonsensical transfer rumours this year as a result.
This new system, however, looks to be the key to unlocking Tchouameni. No longer is the Frenchman expected to sit deep and shield the defence, he is now asked to shuttle up and down the pitch and make an impact at both ends. Perfect.
Tchouameni has been physically dominant and technically excellent. It looks like the 4-1-2-1-2 was made for him.
Ancelotti’s new formation has not impressed a large number of fans, who have voiced their disappointment towards Madrid’s inflexibility. Attacking in a 4-1-2-1-2 has been great, but sticking to the same shape to defend has been disasterous.
Having failed to secure Madrid’s leaky defence last season, this summer was the opposite of what Ancelotti needed and now the Italian is facing plenty of questions about his suitability for the task at hand.
The pressure is already on for Ancelotti, who could easily find himself in trouble quickly if results don’t start to improve.
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