What could Real Madrid change to turn things around this season?

Real Madrid dropped yet another game in La Liga, this time against Villarreal, and will be 19 points behind Barcelona in the table if Messi and Co. beat Real Sociedad at Anoeta later this Sunday. Los Blancos have only won 50% of their games in La Liga this season even though they seemed ready to defend the title they conquered last year. It’s clear that something has to change, but what could Los Blancos do to turn things around?

1. Change the system and starting lineup. Real Madrid are not playing well enough even though they clearly have the talent to dominate week in and week out. Zidane keeps saying that the team is creating chances to win every game and while it’s true that accuracy in front of goal is an issue, a Casemiro-Kroos-Modric midfield is supposed to play much better. Zidane could decide to bench Casemiro and play with a 4-3-3 formation with Kroos, Modric and Kovacic in the midfield or even Isco, who played well as a central midfielder for Carlo Ancelotti in the past. The team will most likely be more vulnerable when opposition counterattack, but they can’t keep nobody from scoring now anyway, so they might as well at least try an attacking-minded system without Casemiro.
2. Sign reinforcements. It won’t be cheap and La Liga season is almost over already, so this one doesn’t make much sense. Finding a quality player who can feature in the Champions League will be almost impossible and those available will undoubtedly be overpriced knowing Madrid’s situation —Icardi?—. Real Madrid should upgrade their current squad in the summer and forget about the winter window.
3. Make drastic changes (Zidane, Perez). Coach Zinedine Zidane could decide to leave the club and Florentino Perez would almost certainly follow him. This would be pushing the panic button after achieving the most successful season in Madrid’s history last season, and while right now it would be too soon to ask for Zidane and Perez to leave, things could change quickly if Los Blancos can’t beat PSG in the next round of the Champions League.