This issue could doom Real Madrid in Champions League play even as Los Blancos always seem to find a way

Carlo Ancelotti has to love his attack, but are the players going forward doing enough in defense?

And so it begins. Real Madrid underwhelm, infuriate and flatter to deceive all their way to yet another European win in spite of themselves. This iteration of Real Madrid looked nothing like the team that won continental crown number 15 in June. Then again, this is a team that can look nothing like the kings of Europe all the way to the 89th minute of a Champions League final and still emerge victorious. 

One could argue that a nebulous sense of destiny is a less reliable indicator of future European success than a defense that doesn't give up quite as many good chances to Stuttgart. That case, however, has been disproven often enough.

Still, about that defense anyway. It wasn't exactly encouraging, was it? It is one thing to allow your goal to come under siege once against unfamiliar but inferior opposition, another to have seemingly shrugged said team aside before letting them back into the contest. Even for Madrid, there might only be a finite number of goals written in the stars: Kylian Mbappe and Endrick marking their Champions League debuts in white with a goal, Antonio Rudiger spoiling the night for the team who gave him his professional debut.