I wanted to wait for a few official matches to get under way before getting too concerned, but I have to say that this current Madrid saquad seems very disjointed, unbalanced, and defensively shoddy.
To start with the positive; The Spanish acqusitions have all been very good, Isco has been a constant threat in every match with his quickness, deft touch and clasy finishing, Illara seems to add a good combination of defensive steal and solid passing in the middle of the park helping keep possession, Nacho has been solid if understated, while Carvajal has been excellent in his work-rate offering width, and support from the back. Many of our best attacking plays and movement have actually occured through him, and despite his almost constant pressence in attack, he recovers well and has seldom been beat down his line. He actually reminds me a lot of Jordi Alba.
However, there have been several problems in the center of the park. Those who earlier commented at the foolishness of letting Ozil go have been proven right. Most of our attacking plays have either been created on the wings via Carvajal and Di Maria or through long hopeful balls. Isco has been marvelous but he does not seem to get the ball typically played to him deep in the midfield and does almost all of his creation in the final third. With Alonso injured and Ozil gone we really lack that deep lying playmake who can get things moving. Additionally, I can't help but say that Perez once again sold the wrong player in Higuain. Benzema has been wasteful at the best of times and invissible more often than not. It is never a positive thing when your central striker seems to be the fourth or fifth most likely player on your squad to score at any given moment.
However the single biggest issue that this current Madrid squad has faced is the absolutely shitty defending of Sergio Ramos. I have already lost count as to how many times he has been easily beaten by the players he is supposedly marking, how many times he has looked like a guy aimlessy walking about when the cross comes in five feet away from the striker, how many times he has had to commit a clear foul as he either lost possession (like he did for his first yellow last night) or completley misjudged a tackle. He has been awful. Pepe has been better (far from high priase) but likewise has not been all together great as well. It is still only Spetember, but we could probably make a lengthy highlight reel of Diego Lopez saves this season.