Los Blancos haven't lost at the Bernabéu in fourteen matches across all competitions, a run built as much on game management as on raw attacking output. In the last five of those games, they've been outshot in three — and still won all three, a pattern that points to a squad comfortable protecting a lead rather than chasing the game.

That record will be tested by opponents who prefer to sit deep and break quickly, the one profile that has troubled them most this run.