Real Madrid are afraid, before facing Liverpool they have these serious problems

As January draws to a close and with half of the season already in the past, we can say that a time barrier has been crossed that is sufficiently noticeable for a more or less serious, more or less in-depth assessment of certain teams' campaigns, and it has to be said that in the UEFA environment, two teams fighting each other for the quarter-finals of the Champions League, Liverpool and Real Madrid, have been scalded, with Benzema being a central issue.

With regard to the Merengues, it is clear that something is not going right and without changes to the squad, which the club has officially stated will not happen in this transfer window, misfortune is looming. What's more, one has already happened: they lost the Spanish Super Cup to Barça with a very poor level of play. Under Ancelotti, the dominance of matches and that level of play is never excellent, but, of course, without a victory in between, rather ridiculous, everything changes. For example, 90 Min points to Madrid as one of the teams most in need of reinforcements due to their obvious deficiencies in the squad, where Karim Benzema occupies a central role.

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As is the case with Ancelotti's side, the media outlet points to the lack of replacements for Alexander-Arnold and the ageing of their midfield as central to their difficulties in improving. Needless to say, the poor results help with the criticism. Chelsea and Sevilla are obviously not spared from these diatribes either, and the critical nature of these analyses is understandable, as the Blues spent more than anyone else in the market but are very deficient in defence and are paying for it in the Premier League, while Sevilla are having one of the worst seasons in living memory; the proof: they are struggling to avoid relegation.

Defensive problems

The team's two full-backs, Ferland Mendy and Dani Carvajal, are having a very poor season, the defence is becoming increasingly insecure and up front, at 35 years of age, only Benzema can provide guarantees, and he has no natural replacement. With so little room for manoeuvre, it is only natural that they should be so relentless. Curiously, Los Blancos, who have half of their season at stake in the next seven days, could benefit from the other team that has been singled out, Liverpool, their opponents in the Champions League quarter-finals.