Real Madrid liberated by Ancelotti return

MADRID, Spain: Carlo Ancelotti called it his ‘honeymoon period’ at Real Madrid and club and coach want to enjoy it while it lasts.

Madrid face Sheriff Tiraspol on Tuesday in the Champions League on the back of a 1-0 win away at Inter Milan that already appears to have put Ancelotti’s team in charge of Group D.

And Madrid have started fast in Spain too, after five wins and two draws have taken them to the top of La Liga, three points clear of Atletico Madrid and five ahead of Barcelona.

Ancelotti was asked on Friday when the honeymoon period would end after Madrid’s 6-1 thrashing of Mallorca.

“When it’s going to end, I’ll tell you but so far, I’m fine,” he said.

It is not just the results that have lifted the mood, after a summer that began with Atletico winning the title and ended with Real Madrid making around 50 million euros in profit from the transfer window and failing to sign Kylian Mbappe.

It is the performances that have excited the fans and given some freshness to a squad that appeared to have grown stale under Zinedine Zidane last season.

Zidane’s success at the helm was historic but his style, whenever it was possible to identify one, was cautious, prioritising defensive solidity, honed from his years at Juventus under Marcelo Lippi, over attacking exuberance.

Ancelotti has taken the handbrake off and the result has been younger players flourishing and the goals flying in.

Real Madrid have scored 21 in seven La Liga games this season, a total that has been spread across eight different players including Karim Benzema, Vincius Junior, Marco Asensio, Eduardo Camavinga, Gareth Bale, Dani Carvajal and Nacho Fernandez.