So, Real Madrid lost 4-3 at home.

Against a Schalke 04 side that it embarrassed 9-2 on aggregate a year ago at this stage of the game.

This writer doesn't think anyone is going to deny that this team, as it is currently playing, is not going to win the Champions League. Probably not even the Spanish League.

Remember the 2012-13 team that won nothing? This side is worse at this point in the season than that one was all of that year. And one can never forget that that team struggled to put a winning streak together until the calendar turned to 2013.

But under Carlo Ancelotti, this side is simply suffering. The goals have dried up. The defense is putrid. And the goaltending... let's not talking about the goaltending. Yet.

So what does Ancelotti do to fix this fiasco? Only he knows what must be done, but here are few suggestions that could help:

Modric in the Midfield

Luka Modric was exceptional when he arrived in the game against Schalke. He picked out nice passes for the BBC forwards and looked like he had never missed a single beat.

So he needs to be in the game if this is going to work. And this is undeniably the easiest fix that Ancelotti can make at this stage. It does, however, leave the team a bit exposed on the back end, something that can be troubling going forward.

Give Toni Kroos Some Rest, Play Asier Illarramendi

Toni Kroos ranks 10th among players in minutes played in Spain's first division.

Six of the other players in that top 10 are goalies. That tells you how much this guy has played and it should be no surprise that he has not put in his best shifts of late. His performance against Schalke was a nice return to form, but running him into the ground is not going to help this team over the long run.

With a poor Levante side arriving at the Santiago Bernabeu, it might be time to give the German some time to rest his body and prepare for the massive Clasico in two weeks.

In his stead, it might be time to give Asier Illarramendi some playing time. The Spaniard's job is to play a defensive role in the midfield and stabilize it. He has been placed behind Sami Khedira on the depth chart, which judging from Khedira's turn against Schalke is not the best of ideas.

Illarramendi can provide a lot of value as a holder, thus allowing the likes of Isco and Modric to move forward and attack the opposition with greater confidence.

This rotation should be employed throughout the coming weeks, particularly when Madrid has tougher opposition. Kroos is the midfield general, but it is clear from the last few months that it is Modric who works the magic. A rested Kroos might ultimately be more beneficial to the team as a whole.

Go With a 4-4-2 Fulltime

Ancelotti loves his 4-3-3, but with his current staff of players it is simply not working. While it provides more width up top, it is not great against counters, especially without a holding midfield to cut off the supply lines in the middle of the pitch.

A 4-4-2 might kill some of the width up front, but it insulates Madrid defensively, thus allowing the team more balance moving forward.

Ancelotti has employed that in defense and it has been ineffective at times, mainly because Gareth Bale has not been great at tracking back on his right wing.

It might be time for Los Blancos to do one of two things in this scenario. Bench Bale and use Jese on the win and get him to adapt the way Isco has (this of course is highly unlikely). Or bench Bale and push Modric to the wings while playing Illarramendi in the middle with Kroos.

Switching Isco and Bale at the moment makes no sense since Isco is often found covering for the ever meandering Marcelo. You do not need to make the left wing more penetrable by having two offensive-minded players running up the pitch and getting caught on a counter.

Iker Casillas

The time has come.

Iker Casillas must ride the pine and make way for Keylor Navas. It simply is not fair anymore for the Costa Rican keeper to have to endure watching his goalie partner make one blunder after another. Casillas had some good stops against Schalke, but they were in ways overshadowed by the number blunders he made on three of the four goals he conceded.

Navas cannot possibly be worse than Casillas at this point in time and playing the Costa Rican will give the team an idea of what to expect moving forward. If he plays as badly as Casillas, they are not losing anything or gaining. But if he is better than the captain (which one would suspect is the case) then Madrid acquires more stability at the back.

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