Real Madrid secured a swashbuckling 5-2 away win against FC Zurich in their last Champions League game, with world record signing Cristiano Ronaldo scoring two trademark freekicks. But their defensive frailties were again evident, despite coach Manuel Pellegrini playing them down. Can this hastily assembled team of superstars actually win the thing?

Cristiano Ronaldo, Kaka, Karim Benzema, Xabi Alonso, Raul Albiol, Alvaro Negredo, Alvaro Arbeloa and Esteban Granero are an incredible roll call of signings, and the quality of personnel is not in doubt. What is questionable is whether they will gel, whether they will work together, whether all these disparate individuals can blend together in the cauldron of the Bernabeu. And not over time – now, immediately, this season. There is little doubt Pellegrino will be swiftly relieved of his duties if this huge investment does not pay some sort of dividend.

Real’s biggest challengers both domestically and in Europe are Guardiola’s Barcelona. After an unprecedented treble last season it is a huge ask for them to push on – or even equal – those achievements. Especially after losing Samuel Eto’o. Whether Real can triumph over Barca over an entire season remains to be seen. Interesting also how the Spanish League has now become all about the ‘Big Two’ – there was a 20/1 bar on another side winning the title this year. It’s like being in Scotland…

Considering that, there is a (R)eal chance they could compete for La Liga. They have the players who can steamroll the likes of Almeria and Xerex on a regular basis, and realistically it could come down to their head to heads with Barca.

The Champions League, however, is a very different animal. They will be competing with the world’s best teams on a regular basis, and will have to come through a group, quarters, and semis, not to mention the final. And it’s started already, only two games into the Primera League season (admittedly with Real flying high after two wins)

Can a newly assembled team achieve that? Can individual superstars chucked together beat the likes of Man Utd, Bayern Munich, AC Milan, Inter, Chelsea… and of course Barcelona? Will Kaka, Benzema, Ronaldo et al have enough to break down the world’s best defences? More pertinently, will Real’s notoriously and evidently shakey defence have enough to repel the advances of the world’s best strikers?

Again, only time will tell. And with the quality of player they have, you cannot write them off. But Real is not where my money would be.

I know we’ve all probably seen it, but this gif highlights the true horror of the tackle. Palacios avoiding a sending off was nearly as outrageous as United’s penalty…

Ronaldo

Cristiano Ronaldo scored his 100th and 101st goals (both from free kicks) for  Man Utd yesterday, as they steamrollered Stoke 5-0 at Old Trafford. His record now stands at 101 goals in 253 matches – and bearing in mind he has scored 9 in 14 this season and 42 from 49 last season, his ratios are only improving.

Considering the amount of goals he scores, added to his assists and MOMs, he is a must-sign for any Fantasy Football managers. Or is he?

He comes at extreme cost – at £14.6 million he is £2.8m more than Lampard, the next most expensive player, and nearly £5million more than any other midfielder bar Steven Gerrard. Could this money be better spent elsewhere? There is certainly an argument for it.

Yes, of course when they blitz Stoke 5-0 and he tears them to shreds, he is going to score a shedload of points and really hurt those who don’t select him. But other weeks – when Utd are playing Arsenal, Villa, Chelsea, Liverpool, Everton – or on current form anyone away from home – he won’t tear them apart, you won”t get a shedload of points from him – and more importantly, if you’ve spunked your budget on CR07, the rest of your team will not be good enough to compensate. I’d rather 3 £8m players – an Ireland, a Young, a Kuyt – than Ronaldo and two £4.5 million players.

And there will be lean times – people think he’s irreplaceable at the moment, but remember Utd have played Hull, Stoke, and West Ham at home recently, and that’s where the majority of Ronaldo’s points have come from. He has actually barely scored any away from home.

And when those managers strapped to the Ronaldo bandwagon go through that bad patch, those weeks he doesn’t score points, its the strength in depth of those that don’t have him that come to the fore. When injuries and rotations hit, when those managers with Ronaldo and three worthless subs start to feel the pinch, that’s when a good team of good players – rather than one superstar – will come into their own.

Your Andy Johnsons, Shola Ameobis, Giovannis, Delaps – they may have purple patches and score a few points, but over a season, its your genuine class that will take you to the top of the table.

And finally – its just more fun. Who wants to pick Ronaldo and make him captain every week? It works a lot of the time, but how much fun is it? Really? Isn’t it bettet to study it, take a punt, make a prediction, rather than the constant refrain ‘Ronaldo, Ronaldo, Ronaldo’?

I for one, won’t jump on that bandwagon.