Those who have followed Real Madrid this season have seen trouble brewing since the club returned from its winter break.

In their first match of the new year, Carlo Ancelotti’s side saw their 22-match winning streak snapped by a resurgent Valencia. That was immediately followed by a 2-0 defeat at the hands of Atletico Madrid during the first leg of their Copa del Rey Round of 16 tie.

While no one expected Real Madrid to march through the regular season and all cup competitions undefeated, the losses to Valencia and Atletico were unsettling for fans because Los Blancos lacked the fight they had shown from the second half of last season until they were crowned world champions in late December.

While losses are to be expected over the course of a season, Madrid looked as if they had lost the hunger which had driven them to a success in the Copa del Rey, Champions League and FIFA Club World Cup in 2014.

Real then snapped their two-game losing streak with an unconvincing 3-0 win over Espanyol. It was during this match that where the first signs of unrest in Carlo Ancelotti’s locker room began to surface.

Rumors were leaked that players were unhappy with the “selfishness” of star signing Gareth Bale. During the match against Espanyol, Bale failed to pass to Cristiano Ronaldo for what appeared to be a clear chance to add to his league-leading goals tally. Ronaldo openly showed his frustration on the pitch. But when asked about the incident following the match, the Portuguese forward claimed he had no issues with his Welsh teammate.

Real Madrid were then eliminated from the Copa del Rey in front of their home supporters on the strength of two Fernando Torres goals. The players tried to downplay another disappointing effort to the media and claimed they were now focused on repeating as Europeans champions and winning La Liga.

They followed their Copa del Rey exit with yet another unconvincing win over Getafe; another match were Bale’s motives were questioned by the Spanish press.

Real Madrid then traveled to Cordoba were they were clearly outplayed and outfought by a club in the bottom half of the La Liga table. Ancelotti’s side were fortunate to level the match and were on their way to a draw with under 10 minutes remaining in the contest.

Then in the 82nd minute, Ronaldo – who had been cutting a frustrated figure the entire afternoon – inexplicably lashed out at two Cordoba defenders. The Ballon d’Or winner kicked then appeared to punch two players and was immediately shown a red card.

As he left the pitch, Ronaldo answered the verbal abuse he was receiving from the Cordoba fans by brushing off the Club World Cup champions badge on his jersey.

The forward would later be handed a two-match ban for his actions.

Real Madrid were then gifted a win when Cordoba’s Nicolas Cartabia blatantly handled a Bale free-kick inside the box. The Welshman stepped up to the spot and gave his side an undeserving 2-1 lead that they wouldn’t relinquish.

With Ronaldo suspended, Madrid would put in one of their better performances against Real Sociedad. After falling behind in the opening minute, they would go on to score four unanswered goals to dispense of David Moyes’ side.

But Madrid would revert back to their previous form in their next La Liga fixture to Sevilla. Although Los Blancos ultimately won the contest 2-1, they were clearly on the ropes for 90 minutes against the Yellow Submarine.

It was during the match with Sevilla that Carlo Ancelotti was dealt two major injury blows. The manager would have to replace Sergio Ramos and James Rodriguez after the players injured their hamstring and foot, respectively.

It was later determined that Ramos would miss six weeks after tearing his hamstring, and James would be sidelined for two months with a broken foot.

That meant Real Madrid were heading into the derby with Atletico without two major contributors; as well as two more influential defenders, Pepe (injured) and Marcelo (suspended due to yellow card accumulation).

While matching up against Diego Simeone’s side (who Real had yet to beat in five matches this season) would be a daunting task, no could have anticipated the beating Atletico Madrid would lay on their cross-city rivals.

Atletico thoroughly dominated Madrid’s midfield which consisted of two World Cup winners, Sami Khedira and Toni Kroos; and completely shut down Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale and Cristiano Ronaldo – ‘BBC’ would finish the match without a single shot on goal.

Ancelotti summed up the 4-0 thrashing perfectly in his post-match press conference.

“It is very simple to read this game,” Ancelotti said. “Atletico deserved to win, they beat us in every respect – in fight, play, organization, second balls.”

“Why this happened, we must look at it over the next days. Clearly we are hurting a lot for this defeat, and clearly we must change our attitude, our motivation, above all to avoid a game like this happening again in the future.”

“We all failed, we all arrived second, we lost all the tackles, all the aerial battles. We did not play the game at all. We did not have one player who played a good game.”

Following the defeat, the Spanish press is reporting that an inquisition as to what has been going on with the squad has begun.

Real Madrid president Florentino Perez immediately went into the dressing room after the loss to Atletico. Perez reportedly had words with Ancelotti, who he believes is at fault for the club’s current state. The president and his staff are refusing to point their fingers at the players and have instead focused their blame on the manager.

While Ancelotti received a tongue-lashing from Perez, the team have remained unscathed. Cristiano Ronaldo – for one – was seen celebrating his birthday in the hours following Real’s derby defeat.

It appears that following their Copa del Rey, Champions League and Club World Cup successes; and claiming they were ready to win every trophy in 2015, Real Madrid have lost their collective desire and hunger. The squad that was so cohesive during the opening months of the campaign, is now fighting among one another and dysfunctional.

While Carlo Ancelotti has been dealt significant injury blows in quick succession. As they say: ‘When it rains it pours’.

The manager, who had previously done a tremendous job of winning over a difficult dressing room, is now facing a battle to get the squad to play together again; while dealing with major losses due to injuries.

Real Madrid’s lead over Barcelona has now been cut to a single point. While the Catalan club appear to be gaining momentum, Madrid seem to have lost their hunger and are looking for answers.

Petequinn

experience

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