Not Benzema’s injury, this is what Real Madrid fans are really worried about

Real Madrid have won 14 Champions League trophies. You would think because of that their fans would give the players a break, but no. Madrid is a brutal place to play. Just ask Gareth Bale, Gonzalo Higuain, Mesut Ozil and many others who were hounded out after delivering success to Los Blancos. Time moves quickly and so do the Madridismo.

Tonight Madrid line up against Celtic after losing to Leipzig last week and drawing against Girona on Sunday. At any other club two average results might not mean much but at Madrid it is a disaster. The Madrid media have turned tonight's match into a must-win encounter, piling the pressure on Carlo Ancelotti and his young team.

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No one expected Madrid to win the Champions League last season, and it is much the same this year. All the attention is going to Napoli's brilliant season and Erling Braut Haaland's freakish goal ratio at Manchester City. At the bookies, better odds have been given to Bayern, Liverpool and PSG to win the competition. 

A process of rejuvenation is underway at Madrid. Yes, Benzema, Modric and Kroos still form the spine of the team, but around them are youngsters like Vinicius (22), Tchouameni and Rodrygo (21), as well as Camavinga (19), who will all have to perform tonight. The transfer policy at the Bernabeu seems to have shifted from buying galacticos, to investing in starlets.

Out with the old, in with the new

Without Sergio Ramos, Marcelo, Casemiro and Varane, the Madridismo will be eager to see if the club's future is in good hands. Win, lose or draw, expect them to complain. One thing they will not be short of tonight is youthful energy, and with something to prove expect them to be very dangerous during this process of reinvention.