At the start of April, Carlo Ancelotti ominously warned: “The pan is at the right temperature again."
After advancing past Barcelona in the Copa del Rey semi-finals that month, Real Madrid duly collected their third trophy of the season by beating Osasuna in the competition's showpiece last weekend.
Up against Manchester City, Madrid continued to sizzle but Kevin De Bruyne fired the visitors level before the flame could morph into a roaring blaze.
Here's how Madrid have fared behind the stove in recent weeks and what remains for the rest of the season.
Real Madrid form guide
After a galling 2-1 reverse at Camp Nou before the March international break, the gap up to Barcelona in La Liga has only widened, with Madrid losing their last two away league games to Girona and Real Sociedad, conceding six goals in the process - Madrid had only shipped five goals across their previous eight away league games.
Goals - at both ends - have been a feature of Madrid's recent run, with Los Blancos watchers treated to 19 across their previous five matches (nine for, ten against). City, however, halted Madrid's four-game winning run at home with Tuesday's hard-fought draw.
Real Madrid's results across last six matches
Real Madrid's next six fixtures
Getafe vs Real Madrid - La Liga
Madrid face city rivals Getafe sandwiched between the two-legged Champions League semi-final with Manchester City. The geographic proximity between the two clubs concocts its own enmity but the fixture has been spiced up by the return of Jose Bordalas to Getafe's dugout.
In a desperate bid to climb out of the relegation zone, Getafe have called upon the coach that led them into the Europa League as recently as 2020. Bordalas may be an infamous expert of the dark arts but he doesn't possess any knowledge of what beating Real Madrid feels like - in ten career meetings with Los Blancos, Bordalas has lost eight and drawn two.
- 13/05/23 - Real Madrid vs Getafe (20:00)
Manchester City vs Real Madrid - Champions League
Ancelotti has travelled to the Etihad Stadium on five separate occasions across the last decade and a half, losing each and every time while conceding 14 goals in the process.
Admittedly, two of those visits were during the fever-dream stretch he spent with Everton. With the likes of Luka Modric and Toni Kroos at his disposal rather than Allan and Tom Davies, Ancelotti has a significantly better chance of ending his Etihad hoodoo.
- 17/05/23 - Manchester City vs Real Madrid (20:00)
Valencia vs Real Madrid - La Liga
The first Champions League final of the 21st century was contested between Valencia and Real Madrid. Two decades into the millennium, one of these institutions of Spanish football may well be preparing for another European showpiece while the other fights off relegation.
With five games to go, Valencia are level on points with 18th-placed Getafe but sit narrowly outside the relegation zone by virtue of a superior head-to-head record with the capital club. Can they get another positive result against a Madrid-based side on 21 May?
- 21/05/23 - Valencia vs Real Madrid (17:30)
Real Madrid vs Rayo Vallecano - La Liga
Deep into the night of Thursday 25 May, Madrid host a Rayo Vallecano side that has repeatedly proven capable of bloodying the nose of La Liga's elite.
Andoni Iraola's wily outfit have taken four points off La Liga champions-elect Barcelona this season (more than Madrid) and earned a 3-2 victory against Los Blancos in November. That match also featured the best shot of the season in Spain, as Real's Fede Valverde blasted the ball into one of the apartments overlooking Rayo's stadium.
- 25/05/23 - Real Madrid vs Rayo Vallecano (21:00)
Sevilla vs Real Madrid - La Liga
The only two teams to qualify for European semi-finals this season have both fallen short of their La Liga objectives. While Madrid contested the first leg of their semi sitting third domestically, Sevilla have only hauled themselves out of the relegation battle since Jose Luis Mendilibar took over.
Mendilibar has lost his last six matches against Real Madrid, seeing his normally parsimonious sides concede at least two goals on each outing. However, he has never had a squad as accomplished as the current Sevilla setup.
- 28/05/23 - Sevilla vs Real Madrid (TBC)
Real Madrid vs Athletic Club - La Liga
Real Madrid's rivalry with Barcelona has been endlessly discussed but the shared enmity with Athletic Club bubbles away under the surface of each meeting between the grand old establishments.
Two of the only three ever-presents in the history of La Liga (along with Barcelona) first met in the final of the 1903 Copa del Rey. 120 years later, they meet on the final day of the season.
- 04/06/23 - Real Madrid vs Athletic Club (TBC)
This article was originally published on 90min as Real Madrid form guide & next six fixtures after Man City draw.