Real Madrid won the C1 Cup – Champions League 2023/24 group stage with a flawless record. Spain’s delegation fulfilled the aim of earning three points during the journey to Germany to confront Union Berlin.

Real Madrid surrendered when Luka Modric failed to take the penalty. However, coach Carlo Ancelotti’s pupils maintained control of the game.

Union Berlin competed tenaciously for a place in the Europa League. Alex Kral’s 2-2 equalizer in the 85th minute gave the home side hope. However, only a few minutes before the conclusion of the game, Dani Ceballos scored the game-winning goal for Real Madrid.

At first sight, the Group C final rankings make Real Madrid’s UEFA Champions League group-stage campaign seem conventional. As things stand, they are the only team with a perfect record after Matchday 6, but Manchester City might join them on Wednesday if things go their way. They also have a plus-nine goal difference after six games, owing in large part to Jude Bellingham’s strong start in Madrid. However, one look at the real results reveals that Real Madrid repeatedly made a mess of things before ultimately clinching the victory.

Madrid picked up just two clean sheets during the group stage and either relinquished leads or had to come from behind on several occasions during that stretch. They did both in Tuesday’s 3-2 win over Union Berlin and though there’s an easy caveat because the game would not impact their top spot finish, that was not the case when they faced Napoli earlier this fall. On Matchday 2, they conceded first, came from behind to take the lead, lost that lead, and relied on Alex Meret’s own goal to secure the three points. Two matchdays later, they gave up a 2-0 lead and needed to score twice after the 80th minute to seal the deal.

The kings of the Champions League have been leaky at the back throughout the group stage, conceding seven goals in six games. It’s an average defensive record that’s in stark contrast with their elite talent and shows and highlights the fact that their аttаck has been there to bail them out of trouble on just about every occasion.

With eight teams left to play on Matchday 6, Real Madrid is tied with Arsenal for the most goals scored during the group stage with 16. They also currently lead the field for shots with 114 and are second for shots on goal with 43 and expected goals with 15.13. They have done so while relying on several different goalcorers. Bellingham is the natural standout with four goals in five games but Rodrygo and Joselu each scored three goals and Vinicius had two in three games.

The most surprising thing about the team’s attacking form is that they arguably have not reached their full potential yet. They have been wasteful throughout their Champions League campaign and have put just 34.7% of their shots on target, ranking 15th in the 32-team field.

They are averaging a little bit better in La Liga at 38.1%, sliding down to fifth despite ranking in the top three in most other attacking categories. Their attacking and defensive situations vary in their domestic league, though — Real Madrid has the best goals-against record in La Liga after conceding just 10 goals in 14 games but has overperformed their expected goals tally significantly. Carlo Ancelotti’s side is third in the league with 28.96 expected goals but second with 34 goals scored.

It paints an overall picture of inconsistency for Real Madrid that will be fascinating to follow as they look to overtake Girona as La Liga leaders and duke it out amongst Europe’s elites to win yet another Champions League title. Their offense-heavy approach might just be perfectly imperfect — it is already difficult for many teams to overcome, and it might serve as a strong starting point to improve upon either their misfiring streak or their porous defense. It also might be overly reliant on talented attackers and could be easily derailed by a cold streak or a series of injuries.

It ultimately forces the question: Is this a sustainable long-term strategy or a sign that Madrid will fall short of their goals by the spring?