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Barcelona strolled to the La Liga title and forced Real to accept success in the Copa del Rey, Super Cup and Club World Cup. It's a solid haul, for sure, but Los Blancos demand more of themselves and undeniably fell short of expectations this year.
It feels like we've hit a turning point in Madrid. Seeing Carlo Ancelotti's ageing side get man-handled by Manchester City in the Champions League was tough to watch at times and, with Karim Benzema headling an expensive group leaving at the end of the campaign, it's time for a rethink at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Real Madrid won La Liga and the Champions League last season. Clearly, they were among the finest clubs on the planet, so expectations for 2022/23 were high. Who cares if Kylian Mbappe turned them down? That being said, there had been signs of a steady decline in 2021/22. Benzema famously had to drag Real to Champions League glory with arguably the most impressive individual run in competition history, and so repeating that success wasn't guaranteed. Most fans simply wanted some silverware and another season of being, well, Real Madrid. If Real weren't going to win all the trophies, they at least needed to make their opponents work for it.
After a sensational 2021/22, Vinicius Junior wasted little time in proving that he could maintain his level as one of football's elite talents. For the second season running, the left winger ended breaking 20 in both goals and assists in all competitions, and this year, he was one of just two players to do so in Europe's major leagues alongside Lionel Messi.
One touch, bang. If you had any doubt about Vinicius' quality this season, just watch this goal. The winger bagged an absolute thunderbolt from range to open up the scoring in the Champions League semi-final first leg, giving every fan genuine belief that they could be on track to retain their trophy. It was the sort of special moment that supporters and rivals alike have grown very used to seeing from Vinicius.
After a 1-0 defeat at home in the Copa del Rey semi-final first leg that they definitely did not deserve, Real Madrid set out to ensure that Barcelona would be given a taste of their own medicine on home soil. The hosts were actually on top early on but conceded on the stroke of half-time to Vinicius and fell apart after the break as Benzema romped his way to a hat-trick. It was emphatic, and at Camp Nou of all places? Even better.
With just two signings coming in this season, there obviously isn't a whole lot of competition here. Despite almost winning by default, let's take nothing away from Antonio Rudiger's solid debut season at the Bernabeu. The German ended up starting 39 games in all competitions, profiting from David Alaba's injury struggles to establish himself in Ancelotti's team. Perhaps Rudiger's finest moment came in the first leg of the Champions League semi-final as he neutralised Erling Haaland. The centre-back was so impressive that Ancelotti's decision not to start him for the second leg was seen by many as a deciding factor in their eventual defeat.
2022/23 was the year in which Eduardo Camavinga really established himself as a reliable member of Real Madrid's first team. After a debut season full of substitute appearances and sporadic cameos, Camavinga took centre-stage this time around. The 20-year-old forced himself into the starting lineup by the end of the campaign and was dazzling both as a midfielder and a makeshift left-back. Whatever job Camavinga was given, he smashed it. He belongs at Real Madrid.
It's telling that, before Benzema announced his departure, the main position in which fans wanted to see reinforcements was at left-back. When fit, Ferland Mendy failed to really convince fans of his worth to the team, and his cause was not helped by a nasty muscle injury that restricted him to just 18 La Liga appearances. It's the second year in a row that the 27-year-old's own body let him down. On the bright side, it was Mendy's injury that saw Camavinga turned into a rampaging left-back. Every cloud.
Source: 90min.com
