Having regained the league title with a record number of points in the previous season, Real Madrid started the La Liga campaign as the favourites for the crown once more.
They managed to secure long-term target Luka Modric from Tottenham Hotspur in the summer. Meanwhile, Jose Mourinho also moved for Chelsea midfielder Michael Essien, who was such a force for the Portuguese during his time with the Blues.
However, it has not been plain sailing for Madrid in the opening half of the season. They are already seemingly out of the title race and trail rivals Atletico Madrid in the table at the winter break.
Here, Sports Mole takes a closer look at Madrid's troubles this season, with Mourinho's position at the club yet again called into question.
August
Madrid opened their league campaign at home to Valencia, but could only draw 1-1 and were immediately playing second fiddle to Barcelona, where they were then defeated in the first leg of the Super Cup at the Camp Nou.
Their league form continued to stutter as they lost away at Getafe in their second fixture. However, Mourinho did manage to get one over on his old foes Barcelona as he secured the Super Cup on away goals with a 2-1 win at the Bernabeu.
That said, their impressive football from the previous season showed no signs of surfacing as they huffed and puffed their way through their opening two league matches of the new campaign.
September
It appeared that Madrid had shaken off their early struggles when they recorded a 3-0 win over Granada, but they suffered their second league defeat of the season in quick succession as they were beaten away by Sevilla.
Their Champions League campaign began with a win, but they needed late goals from Karim Benzema and Cristiano Ronaldo to pick up all the points against Manchester City. They then ended the month with back-to-back wins over Rayo Vallecano and Deportivo La Coruna in the league.
However, rumours that Mourinho and Ronaldo were both unhappy at Real continued to unhinge their season. Meanwhile, the likes of Angel di Maria and Mesut Ozil were also underperforming.
October
October began with a 4-1 win over Ajax in the Champions League, while Ronaldo struck twice as they picked up a 2-2 draw at Barcelona on October 7. However, they were still playing catch-up to the Catalan outfit.
Another three points followed at home to Celta Vigo, but they suffered their first Champions League defeat of the campaign as they were beaten by an impressive Borussia Dortmund outfit in Germany.
Back-to-back victories did arrive at the end of the month, however, with a 5-0 thrashing of Real Mallorca in the league and a 4-1 win away to Alcoyano in the Copa del Rey.
November
November proved to be a disappointment by Madrid's standards as they fell further behind Barcelona at the top of the table. They opened the month with a 4-0 win over Real Zaragoza, but could only draw 2-2 with Borussia Dortmund on their home patch in the Champions League.
Their impressive form in the league continued with back-to-back wins over Levante and Athletic Bilbao, while they ensured their progress into the latter stages of the Champions League with a 1-1 draw against Manchester City.
However, they suffered their third league defeat of the season away to Real Betis on November 24. It was suggested that senior players had criticised Mourinho for his lack of preparation as the relationship between the boss and his players continued to show signs of strain.
The month did end with a 3-0 win over Alcoyano as they ensured their progress into the next round of the Copa del Rey, but all was certainly not right as politics continued to surround the club.
December
December began in the best possible fashion with a 2-0 win over Atletico Madrid, who were still higher than Real in the table. They then recorded a 4-1 win over Ajax in their final Champions League group stage match, but they had to settle for second spot in the group, where they learned that they will face Manchester United in the knockout stages.
They then needed a late strike from Ozil to pick up all three points away to Real Valladolid, but they were brought back down to earth as Celta Vigo recorded a 2-1 win in the first leg of their fifth-round clash in the Copa del Rey.
They all but surrendered their league title on December 16 when they dropped home points to lowly Espanyol. They fell behind before regaining the lead, but a late strike Juan Albin meant that they dropped 13 points behind Barcelona.
A trip to Malaga then followed in their final match before the winter break, where Mourinho decided to drop goalkeeper Iker Casillas from his starting side. Things did not go much better on the pitch as they suffered a 3-2 defeat to trail Barcelona by 16 points at the top of the table.
Matt Law
