Real Sociedad came from behind to beat Real Madrid 3-1 at the Anoeta Stadium on Sunday evening, as the visitors played most of the game with 10 men.
A brilliant early opening goal from Los Blancos youngster Brahim Diaz seemed to point to a game which Madrid would dominate, however, Sociedad fought back and won the game comfortably in the end.
La Real equalised as Mikel Merino smashed the ball past Thibaut Courtois to level the game at 1-1, following a disallowed goal for offside.
Sociedad were awarded a penalty in the first half after Los Blancos defender Jesus Vallejo handled on the line but failed to convert. They took the lead in the 57th minute when Joseba Zaldua looped a header over the stranded Courtois into the Real Madrid net.
17-year-old Ander Barrenetxea put the game beyond Los Blancos with a good finish past Courtois in the 68th minute, to the dismay of the Madrid players.
Here’s 90min’s breakdown of the game.
Real Sociedad
Player Ratings
Starting XI: Rulli (7); Zaldua (7), Moreno (7), Llorente (7), Munoz (6); Pardo (7), Zubeldia (7), Merino (8); Barrenetxea (6), Jose (6), Oyarzabal (7)
Substitutions: Januzaj (7), Illarramendi (6), Juanmi (6)
Real Madrid
Key Talking Point
Normally, it is the goalkeeper who saves a certain goal with his hands. Los Blancos centre-back Vallejo had other ideas as he handled on the line, stopping a certain goal for Sociedad.
Despite making an excellent save, the 22-year-old found himself heading down the tunnel for the proverbial bath having received a red card, with Real Sociedad being awarded a penalty which would give them the lead if scored.
Luckily for the Real youngster, Sociedad striker Willian Jose hit a tame penalty that was saved by Courtois and kept the scores level for the time being.
Player Ratings
Starting XI: Courtois (6); Carvajal (6), Vallejo (4), Nacho (5), Marcelo (6); Isco (6), Casemiro (5), Kroos (6); Asensio (5), Benzema (5), Diaz (8)*
Substitutions: Modric (6), Vazquez (5), Vinicius (5)
Star Man – Brahim Diaz
At the tender age of 19, Diaz looked threatening and worth every penny of the £15.5m Real Madrid paid Manchester City in January to bring him to the club.
He was a constant thorn in the side of the Real Sociedad defence, and in particular, full-back Joseba Zaldua, who will probably be having nightmares of the Spanish youngster for the next few nights.
It was the ideal way to score your first goal for Real Madrid and Diaz will hope he has done enough in his recent performances to convince Zidane to give him a starting berth next season.
It speaks volumes about his display and those of his teammates, as Diaz was substituted in the 66th minute.
Looking Ahead
Los Blancos welcome Real Betis to the Santiago Bernabeu in their final ?La Liga match of the season. For some of Madrid’s players, this may be their last appearance in the famous white shirt as Zidane looks to revamp his squad this summer.
Let’
