Gareth Bale hit the nail on the head following Real Madrid's 4-2 friendly defeat against AC Milan in December when he said "sometimes when you go on a winning run you can get a bit complacent."
The Welshman went on to add that he and his teammates were "determined and 100 percent focused to win every game" as they prepared to return from the winter break on the back of a Spanish record 22-match winning run in competitive matches. Nothing seemed likely to stop a Madrid juggernaut that had been firing in all cylinders before the turn of the year -- not yet.
Bale had sounded the warning but he and his teammates did not heed it. While a 2-1 defeat against Valencia at the Mestalla could be traced to simply being beaten by a better team on the day, the weeks that followed saw a dramatic dip in performance levels from the European champions, a dip that has only seen an upward trajectory in recent weeks.
Madrid have emerged from that poor run of form with a four-point lead at La Liga's summit and one foot in the quarterfinals of the Champions League. Aided by the failings of Barcelona in San Sebastian against Real Sociedad on Jan. 4 and last week against Malaga, as well as reigning champions Atletico Madrid at Celta Vigo, Carlo Ancelotti and his men have not been punished for their recent failings. Most teams struggle to hit consistent levels of excellence throughout a campaign and if Madrid's drop has been and gone, they picked a good time to endure it.
It was no coincidence some of Madrid's disappointing results have come when the team's celebrated front three failed to make an impact. The heavy defeat against Atleti, the cup exit against Diego Simeone's side, the loss at Valencia and sub-standard performance at Cordoba, came when they were struggling to hit the intergalactic heights they had reached pre-January.
While last season may have been a season for the midfielders in La Liga, such as Real Madrid's Luka Modric and Angel Di Maria, Barcelona's Andres Iniesta and Atletico Madrid's Koke and Arda Turan, this season was one for the attack.
Cristiano Ronaldo started the season like a house on fire, Barcelona added Luis Suarez to their ranks and although Antoine Griezmann took time to settle into life at the Calderon, his arrival bolstered Simeone's side and is arguably the signing of the summer. That Fernando Torres arrived to the party in January was an added bonus for Atletico Madrid.
Madrid scored goals for fun before Christmas, including hitting eight at Deportivo and scoring five on a number of occasions, but Luis Enrique's front three at Barcelona decided to take matters into their own hands after that defeat at Real Sociedad in which Messi had been left on the bench. Madrid's "BBC" suffered and Barca's hat-trick of superstars had started to show their worth. The pendulum has started to swing the way of the Catalans.
Since Christmas, Madrid have scored 23 goals in all competitions, including 19 in nine La Liga outings. In Catalonia, Barca have hit 54, albeit with the help of three more Copa del Rey outings, but outscored Madrid in the league with 26 goals in just eight matches.
Ronaldo may have started the year by retaining the Ballon d'Or but Messi was on a mission. Madrid's "BBC" have scored 14 goals in total since the turn of the year and produced seven assists. Over at the Camp Nou, Messi has scored 14 by himself and chipped in with seven assists. Neymar has added another 10 goals and Suarez has found his feet with six. Ronaldo has scored six in 10 matches, Benzema has added five in 12 and Bale has scored just three.
The first two months of 2015 belonged to Barcelona's attacking trio but now Madrid boss Carlo Ancelotti will call on his front three to put the pedal to the floor and regain the kind of form that had Madrid out of sight in terms of performance level for much of the start of the season. Last weekend's fixtures, which saw Barca lose at home against Malaga, and fail to score, and Madrid win 2-0 at Elche, has handed the momentum back to those in the Spanish capital.
The signs of a return to form were there for all to see last Sunday night. Madrid may have "only" won 2-0 at a side struggling at the wrong end of the table, but they showed the intensity and attitude that their manager has been calling for since the New Year. Benzema and Ronaldo got on the scoresheet but the whole front three, completed by Bale, were a threat throughout.
It was not an 8-2 victory as they had chalked up at Riazor earlier on against Deportivo, but it was a vast improvement on the kind of attacking threat they showcased at Cordoba, where they edged to a 2-1 victory despite Ronaldo's sending-off, or at the Calderon against Atletico, where they could not muster a good shot on target.
Luis Enrique's men could have piled the pressure on Madrid with victory over Malaga but that defeat helped to inspire their rivals and Bale, Benzema and Ronaldo took the game at Elche by the scruff of the neck. Now their manager will expect more of the same until the job is done.
It goes without saying that Madrid as a team have impressed for the bulk of this season. The defence has improved, midfielder Toni Kroos fits like a glove in the position of the departed playmaker Xabi Alonso and Isco has become arguably Madrid's most important player over the last few months. While others around him have received their fair share of criticism, the former Malaga man has been exempt.
The statistics, however, do not lie. Madrid's front three have scored 52 of their side's 74 goals so far while Luis Enrique's attacking trio have chipped in with 47 of his side's 67 strikes. For both teams, their respective front threes have scored 70 percent of their goals. It's a like-for-like ratio. Victories have been big victories this season and the best form of defence has been to attack. These are two clubs synonymous with attacking flair but this season the ante has been upped.
Madrid will again follow Barcelona this weekend and they will again look to showcase their muscle in attack. Ancelotti's men managed to deliver a blow to their old foes last weekend by extending their lead at the top and this weekend, they will look to show that no matter what Barca do before them, they can match or better. That will do in the title race.
Villarreal, the visitors to the Bernabeu on Sunday night, are no slouches and although they will come into the game with tired legs after their Europa League heroics, they are one of the few sides that should pose a threat to Madrid domestically between now and the end of the season.
Such has been Ronaldo's form this season that he was questioned following a run of three games without a goal. Now he has two in his last two and has scored more goals against the Yellow Submarines than any other player in the history of La Liga. The Portuguese has scored 10 goals in eight outings against the side from El Madrigal and found the back of the net earlier in the season when he tucked home a ball from Benzema in a 2-0 victory.
The Frenchman also enjoys his outings against the Castellon club, scoring twice in a 4-2 victory in the same fixture last season, and once the season in a 3-0 win the season before. Benzema also goes into this weekend's fixture having found the back of the net in his last two Liga outings, against Elche and Deportivo. He currently has 130 Madrid goals in all competitions and a goal on Sunday night would see the 27-year-old surpass club legend Michel in the all-time goalscoring charts.
For Bale, the final part in the front-three jigsaw, he will look to end a run of five matches without a goal or an assist. The Welshman may have played well in recent matches and left with nothing to show for his efforts, but at a time when statistics have never mattered so much and when those of his attacking teammates' are so high, the Welshman needs to add to his current numbers of 10 goals and five assists in La Liga. He scored his first goal on his Madrid debut against Villarreal and he will be eager for another this weekend.
Barcelona's tantalising trio have flexed their attacking muscles since the turn of the year but now it's the turn of Madrid's main men to make the amazing seem normal again and fire their side further towards a first title in three years. With a rare full week of preparation, Villarreal's goalkeeper Sergio Asenjo can expect to be in for a busy night.