Very Tough Road: Winning and Thrashing Brest is an Obligation for Real Madrid

Despite the victory by a landslide against Salzburg at Bernabéu Stadium, Real Madrid is in a really complicated position in the current European campaign. The accumulated defeats at other moments in the league phase of the Champions make it almost impossible to qualify directly for the round of 16.

This means that the Whites will have to sneak into the top 16 teams in Europe by overcoming a preliminary round that won't give much competitive breath to their sports discipline. The quality of the possible opponents makes the road to the Munich final more epic.

Because assuming that Real Madrid achieves its goal and wins by a large margin against Stade Brestois in Guingamp, there is still much to do. Except for the eight defeats of teams that are between Madrid and the round of 16 zone, a full sweep that is extremely difficult to make a reality, the white club has it tough.

The path between the round of 32 and the round of 16 will bring many headaches to the technical staff led by Ancelotti. If they maintain the 16th position, the place the Meringue team currently occupies, the preliminary round to the round of 16 would be played against top-tier continental teams.

Playing on "very difficult"

The  "play-off" of the league phase of the Champions League would pit Real Madrid against Juventus of Turin or Celtic of Glasgow, demanding matches regardless of the opponent. If they reach the round of 16 by overcoming those two matches, the outlook is not the most promising.

Especially because two teams that have already defeated the white club this season would approach. In that sense, Madrid would have to face Barcelona or Liverpool in a hypothetical round of 16 of the current edition of the Champions League. Those two teams have already shown they are capable of dismantling Carlo Ancelotti's tactical plans with surprising ease, a precedent that certainly doesn't reassure Madridists.

The "scares" wouldn't end there. If the entity presided over by Florentino works a miracle and reaches the quarterfinals, the opponents' caliber wouldn't decrease as many expect and wish. Especially because great teams like Liverpool or FC Barcelona, depending on who crosses paths with the merengue team, could await in the quarterfinals.

In the face of that avalanche of numbers, calculations, and possible pairings, calm prevails at the Ciudad Deportiva of Valdebebas. The debate about the competitive future of this Champions League is slightly set aside from the focus of Santiago Bernabéu locker room... because first, they must defeat Real Valladolid in another key match for the course of LaLiga 24/25.