Our midfield is only really a problem this season, before that we managed by just fine. But the main issue is that we hold onto some players for too long, until they are corpses and no one wants them, and it ends up costing us in such games. Barzagli for example, was way overdue after the 2017 final, especially since Bonucci left and we didnt replace him, so our CB depth was thin for the next season. There are other such examples but back to the midfield and the 1st name is Khedira. He was great in 2017, he was still quality in 2018 as well, although on a less consistent basis (showed up when it mattered vs Real though). 2018 summer was the moment to replace (upgrade on) him. Instead we extended him on higher wages and added Can on 5M a year net, whos far from a difference maker himself, and at his very best a 4th-5th kinda rotation player for a club like us. So instead of having a starter caliber mid + a youngster of greater potential than Can, we are stuck with an chronically injured (whos still our 3rd best mid as sad as that sounds) nominal starter and an underwhelming backup of his. We see the consequences right now. Then this coming summer would have been the time to move on from Matuidi for Ramsey, but instead we will be trying to find someone to take Khedira and replace him with Ramses instead. Then in a year or two we will again wonder why no one wants Matuidi and discuss if Citys Fernandinho still has some gas in him to help us as a freebie.
Right now it looks like we need an overhaul, but if we addressed these issues at their right times, we would be looking at replacing 1-2 starters in the summer and call it a mercato