Ancelotti's glorious Real Madrid return with title win ahead of Mbappe transfer

Real Madrid secured their 35th La Liga title on Saturday in ideal preparation for the second leg of their Champions League semi-final against Manchester City in the Spanish capital this week.

Los Blancos are dreaming of adding European glory to add to their domestic success this season despite being edged out in a seven-goal thriller in the first leg of their Champions League semi-final against Manchester City last week. While Pep Guardiola's side must remain fully focused on their attempts to retain their Premier League crown, Madrid now have both eyes on the Champions League.

That much was evident by Carlo Ancelotti's team line-up against Espanyol on Saturday. There was no Karim Benzema, Vinicius Junior, Toni Kroos, Ferland Mendy or Dani Carvajal, who were all rested. Eder Militao was serving a suspension while David Alaba was not risked either as he was carrying an injury - with the hope he will return for Wednesday's second leg.

That is the luxury that Real Madrid have, with the league title secured with four rounds of matches remaining. It is an impressive feat from Ancelotti, who inherited a squad who finished trophyless last campaign and who lost club captain Sergio Ramos and long-serving central defensive stalwart Raphael Varane. The only incomings were those of free agent Alaba and teenage midfielder Eduardo Camavinga from Rennes.

Yet there has never been any doubt about the destination of this year's La Liga title. Ancelotti's side have lost just three times in the league this campaign and they have comfortably the best attacking stats in La Liga - with Saturday seeing them hit the 70-goal milestone in the division. At the start of the weekend, they had conceded 10 goals fewer than Atletico Madrid - whose previous successes under Diego Simeone had been built on their resilient defensive rear-guard.

There have been setbacks along the way. The humbling at home by Moldovan side Sheriff Tiraspol in the Champions League group stages - arguably the competition's biggest shock result in the modern era - is long-forgotten, as were being outplayed by Paris Saint-Germain and Chelsea for large portions of their Round of 16 and quarter-final games respectively. Real Madrid needed genius hat-tricks from Benzema to save them in those ties, but the Frenchman was not available for March's La Liga visit of Barcelona. Despite having a double-digit points advantage over their El Clasico rivals, Benzema's absence coincided with a Madrid humiliation - slumping to a four-goal loss.

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There are plenty of questions still lingering over this side, a general lack of structure and identity which often becomes evident in the knockout stages of the Champions League. It is within these games that Madrid try to distil into individual battles and which they, moreso than any other club, have players who can step up and produce in the biggest moments. Benzema is the clearest example of that but Modric, Kroos, Vinicius, Rodrygo and Alaba have all produced iconic moments of genius in the side's biggest games.

PSG star striker Kylian Mbappe has reportedly reached an agreement to join Real Madrid this summer - the Spanish giants have had a long-running interest in the Frenchman. Mbappe is out of contract at Paris Saint-Germain this summer and he has recently hinted at a move to Real Madrid while a recent interview suggested that he is open to leaving France. It would be another addition that would revolutionise the club's potential ahead of next season.

Ancelotti has become becomes the first coach to win a title in each of Europe's top five leagues: adding Spain to his titles in Serie A, the Premier League, Ligue 1 and the Bundesliga. Now he is aiming to become the first ever manager to reach five Champions League finals, having previously participated in the showpiece with Milan in 2003, 2005 and 2007 alongside his appearance with Real Madrid in 2014. Guardiola's Man City stand in their way, but this season has proven you can never write off Real Madrid.