Coming into Tuesday night’s Copa del Rey tie against third division Murcia, Real Madrid’s form had been phenomenal. Since their uninspired goalless draw at newly promoted Levante on September 25th, Los Blancos had won five of five, including two Champions League matches. Outscoring opponents 19-3 over that span, Jose Mourinho’s side had seemingly found their form and were set to start bringing the trophies to the Bernabeu. That was until they were held goalless, again, by a stubborn Murcia side in their fourth round cup fixture. As the season presses forward, supporters in the Spanish capital are beginning to wonder which Madrid side will take the pitch on a given night.

The seventeen time Copa del Rey Champions have exited the competition at the hands of a third division club in each of the past two seasons. Couple that with Madrid’s lavish spending and those results become even more embarrassing, sparking their Portuguese boss to threaten his side before the tie. Unsure which, if any, players are “dead to him” after Tuesday lackluster draw; the Spanish giants will look to advance to the round of sixteen, for the first time since 2007-2008, in the return leg on November 10.

Replacing six starters from the team that destroyed Racing Santander at the weekend, the top flight visitors still had plenty of firepower on the pitch. Four of those five included the keeper and three defenders, however, the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo were complimented with struggling French Striker Karim Benzema and the young duo of Pedro Leon and Sergio Canales. Changes in the final thirty minutes saw the introductions of Angel di Maria and Gonzalo Higuain in an attempt to break the deadlock; it was not to be. Maybe the pundits, me included, were too quick to proclaim Real Madrid as having found their form or, maybe, it was just a bad night. Either way, no Madrid side, reserves or Galacticos, should be held by a third division team. One has to take into account the fatigue, playing a competitive league schedule on top of a major European competition; nevertheless, given their recent history, this was no game to be taken lightly. it would be easy, even with their embarrassing aforementioned past, to take this tournament lightly (It is interesting to note that even throughout the Galacticos’ years at the turn of the century the Copa del Rey trophy was never brought back to the Bernabeu. And while European glory is more prestigious than a domestic cup, trophies are still trophies, and this one has not been held by Madrid since 1993).

The infancy of the season make it impossible to speculate how we will look back and appraise Real Madrid’s 2010-2011 campaign; however, evaluating Madrid’s unpredictability, I think Madrid’s positive form will make this year a special one in the Spanish capital. Barcelona continues to be a staple of consistency with summer acquisition and Spain World Cup star David Villa still yet to find his stride in the Catalonian capital, but there domestic domination may be over. Madrid have finally filled in the missing pieces from a season ago. Xabi Alonso is distributing the ball phenomenally, complementing the extraordinary play along the wings (see Graham Hunter's piece on Mesut Ozil). The striker position may still raise questions (Gonzalo Higuain has been the most reliable of an otherwise inconsistent striking core); however, Cristiano Ronaldo’s movement off the ball has opened up the attacking side of the pitch for Mourinho’s side. A refurbished backline, playing an elite level of football, in front of the world’s best keeper anchors the back of a very complete team. Turning a 180 from the maligned defensive form of a year ago, Real Madrid have conceded the fewest numbers of goals in the league (4) and have yet to concede in three Champions League matches.

November will be a very telling month in the Spanish capital. Trips to Milan and Ajax supplement a league schedule that sees the Madrid derby, a visit from Athletic Bilbao, and, oh yeah, a trip to Barcelona. The league will not be decided in the coming weeks, and Los Blancos have all but qualified to move forward in the Champions League; nonetheless, the trying schedule they face may give a little more insight into the resiliency, quality and true potential of this Madrid side.