Real Madrid are BRICKING IT ahead of Liverpool Champions League tie

Real Madrid are in CRISIS ahead of the Champions League group stage match against Liverpool.

While the reigning champions managed a 4-0 win against Osasuna before the international break, the cracks are beginning to show in Carlo Ancelotti’s side.

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Results haven’t always gone their way this season, as Champions League defeats to Lille and AC Milan would attest to.

Those setbacks leave Real 18th in the reformulated Champions League table ahead of the Anfield clash on November 27.

They are also off the pace in La Liga, failing to win either of their big games so far this season; they drew against Atletico Madrid before being humiliated on their own turf, 4-0, against Barcelona.

Real Madrid hit with injury blow

To compound their misery, Los Blancos are in the midst of an unprecedented injury crisis with Eder Militao, Rodrygo and Lucas Vazquez going off injured at the weekend.

Real have suffered 25 separate injuries since the start of the season, which according to Relevo, has led to questions about Ancelotti’s long-time fitness guru Antonio Pintus. The Spanish outlet claims senior players have lost faith in the 62-year-old, with many of their stars’ personal trainers now as responsible for fitness levels as the club specialist.

Simply put, Real have not been running enough, which can be clearly seen in their recent head-to-head running statistics.

It’s been revealed that Madrid ran 10 kilometres less collectively than Barcelona during the 4-0 defeat. The gap between Real and Stuttgart meanwhile in the Champions League was eight kilometres. In their only other European victory of the season, they ran six kilometres less than Borussia Dortmund overall. The figure stood at five kilometres in the AC Milan defeat.

Ancelotti sounds the ALARM

Kylian Mbappe, whose signing looks like a bigger mistake with each passing day, ran only EIGHT kilometres overall in the defeat to Barca.

All this has led to Ancelotti reportedly feeling like Madrid need to go back to basics. The head coach is going to use the international break to implement a new fitness regime which is intended to carry forward for the rest of the season.

He was only able to assemble seven warm bodies for Monday’s session as 15 stars are absent either through injury or international duty.

However, Madrid are going to be attempting to increase their fitness output, with Ancelotti revealing to the press before the Osasuna game: "The problem is detected, it's very clear. The key is to be a compact team. What's needed for that? Sacrifice, concentration, and collective work."

'Liverpool will sweep us away'

There is a feeling around the club that simply put Madrid haven’t been working hard enough. It’s been claimed that some senior figures were left unimpressed at the squad being given two days’ rest following the Barca debacle whereas Hansi Flick had his stars back in the following day.

And the concern stretches to the upcoming game at Anfield, with voices around the training ground admitting according to Relevo: "Either we raise our level or Liverpool will sweep us away.”

And who are we to argue?

Liverpool are the best team in Europe this season, winning 15 of 17 matches, and are top of both the Premier League and Champions League tables. Arne Slot and his staff will be licking their lips at the prospect of exacting revenge against Madrid for recent defeats.

Los Blancos have beaten the Reds in two Champions League finals since 2018, eliminated the English club en route to the semifinals in 2023 and are without defeat against Liverpool since they won 4-0 at Anfield in 2009. There’s no time like the present to make up for that poor record.

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