Watching these first 3 games did nothing to change my mind about Lopetegui's Madrid - I think they'll be more consistent in La Liga, but will struggle against big teams.
They went from a side built for power football and taking down big teams to a side that's trying to maintain 75% possession without necessarily having the players for that type of football.
Modric is the best at opening passing lanes, Kroos is a sublime passer, Bale can make fantastic off-ball runs... But for now it's all coming down to countless side-passes and it's looking very much like Spain in the WC - high possession, but largely uneventful.
Of course, it gets easily masked because of the teams they've been facing.
I mean, I could be wrong, that's just my impression.
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Barca, OTOH, in their "ideal 11" with Coutinho, look really good offensively, but there's a gap in the middle of the pitch where Rakitic and Busquets are left alone vs the opposition, Coutinho is much more offensively orientated so it's more of a 4-2-3-1 than 4-3-3.
They've looked great (the silly game on an unplayable pitch in Valladolid aside), Messi's looked great, but as with Madrid, they've not really faced any serious teams.
On paper and on the pitch though, they do look good, and they have some extra depth this year to help them in multiple competitions.
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Bottom line, I expect the title race to be close, as Lopetegui's Madrid might just thrive on hammering inferior teams, but in turn is not a team that will come close to winning another CL.
Barca, OTOH, might just get that CL title this season, though it's still very hard to judge after 3 games vs inferior opposition.
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I've not seen a single Atletico game, just highlights, so can't really tell what's up with them and their rather pedestrian start.
