Following the departures of Cristiano Ronaldo and Zinedine Zidane, Real Madrid gets its first test against crosstown rival Atletico Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup.
So far, Madrid hasn’t resorted to a “galacticos” spending spree to bring in marquee names at astronomical prices. Coach Julen Lopetegui seems to be relying on the talent already at his disposal and a new tactical system.
The club, though, has made a few significant purchases, including goalkeeper Thibault Courtois from Chelsea.
Now, the team that was built around Ronaldo and which has won three straight Champions League titles comes up against a strong Atletico team that won the Europa League and finished ahead of Madrid in the Spanish league.
Here are a few things to watch out for in Wednesday’s match in Tallinn, Estonia:
Ronaldo moved to Juventus in a €112 million deal and Zidane resigned.
Those changes have given new impetus to forwards Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema and Marco Asensio to step up and fill the void left by Ronaldo, who scored 450 goals in 438 matches for Madrid.
Lopetegui, who is prone to shaking things up, may look to give key roles to a core of Spanish players like Asensio, Isco, Marcos Llorente and Dani Ceballos. He may also turn to new signing Alvaro Odriozola to become first-choice right back.
Even though the Ronaldo era is over, Madrid has enough experienced players and young talent coming through to offset his exit.