We can say that 2018 has been another successful year in the history of Real Madrid. Winning the Champions League trophy again, for 13th time, hide all the other mistakes and defeats in La Liga. Besides, Real Madrid supporters had to say goodbye to two legends: Cristiano Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane. Besides, another coach was sacked by Florentino Pérez: Julen Lopetegui.
2018 will be remembered for the Champions League trophy won in Kiev. Gareth Bale’s amazing goal, Karius mistakes and Cristiano Ronaldo’s farewell in the Ukrainian capital will stay in the memory of the supporters. Real Madrid beat PSG, Juventus with a polemic penalty and Bayern Munich with a lot of suffering to reach that final.
In La Liga things have not going well. Los Blancos lost already the title in 2017 because they started the year 14 points behind FC Barcelona after losing El Clásico. In the new season things have not improved and they are 8 points behind the Blaugranas with one match left against Villarreal on the 3rd of January. It could be even worse because Real Madrid have lost five games so far -Sevilla, Alavés, Levante, FC Barcelona and Eibar-.
In Copa del Rey we cannot say anything positive as well. The team got knockout by Leganés in the quarter-finals last year after winning 0-1 at Butarque, but they lost 1-2 at Santiago Bernabéu in a terrible game.
Also we don’t have good news in the European Supercup. It was Lopetegui’s first official game, but he found a defeat (2-4) against Atlético Madrid in Tallinn. Los Blancos were winning until the last minutes of the game, when Marcelo committed a terrible mistake.
Luckily, the year finished with another trophy. This time it was the FIFA Club World Cup for third straight year. Al-Ain was defeated (4-1) in the final with the goal achieved and the first trophy for Solari as a manager.
Also there were big changes in the squad. An era finished with Zidane and Cristiano Ronaldo’s departures. Julen Lopetegui arrived to the club in June and he was immediately fired from the Spanish national team. Some months later, also Florentino Pérez had to fire him after getting thrashed (5-1) in El Clásico. Solari took over, but the image of the team is not getting better.
In the squad there aren’t many changes. Cristiano left but no star was signed in the summer transfer window. Only Thibaut Courtois was signed as a big star, putting Keylor Navas on the bench. Vinicius or Odriozola also joined Real Madrid. Finally, we want to highlight the loss of weight of Isco and Marco Asensio, both sit usually on the bench.
