Real Madrid once held a solid lead in La Liga, but really poor form culminated in a 1-0 defeat at Athletic Bilbao at the weekend.
Not only did they lose, but the European Champions also saw rivals Barcelona leapfrog them in the La Liga table, prompting calls for manager Carlo Ancelotti to drop one of the BBC front-line of Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo.
Our European football reviewer Ben Lyttleton told Off The Ball that they seem to be paying the price for the summer transfer strategy.
"It's a difficult midfield and they sold Xabi Alonso and Angel Di Maria, who were the two best players in their midfield last season. There are reasons for [problems] to happen. It's an imbalanced squad because you sell two of your best midfielders and you buy Kroos and James Rodriguez which is fine. But James is injured and the others guys are not good enough to step in," said Ben, who pointed out the obvious fatigue Toni Kroos is suffering from as well as the injury to Luka Modric.
While Ancelotti's future is in doubt, Ben also discussed his former club Milan and suggested that Filippo Inzaghi won't be in charge next season as the Rossoneri continue to flounder.
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