Mistake ridden Real Madrid shutout at home by Real Sociedad
By Ben Sundock
Not five minutes into the home match against Real Sociedad, Real Madrid trailed 1-0 and never seemed to regain its footing in what was a must-win match. Lucas Vazquez picked up a red card in the 61st minute and the side from San Sebastian added a second goal in the dying minutes to seal the win. Here is a full recap of the match.
The current state of the three-time defending Champions League winners is worrisome to put it lightly. On Sunday night in their first game at the Santiago Bernabéu in 2019, Los Blancos laid an egg.
Needing a win to stay in competition with top place FC Barcelona, Santiago Solari’s men seemed uninterested in pushing to get the match back to terms after a terrible mistake by Marcelo and Casemiro.
The Brazilian duo did not properly communicate who was covering who and the central defensive midfielder brought down Mikel Merino without much of a doubt. Willian José struck the penalty perfectly and put the visitors on top early.
Despite dominating possession and the shots on goal, Real Madrid could not get past the Sociedad goalkeeper Gerónimo Rulli who finished the match with eight saves.
Madrid showed some fight with Karim Benzema missing an easy chance in the box, Vazquez looping a cross off the post, and Vinicius Júnior looked to have earned a penalty, but no call was made.
The proverbial nail in the coffin in this match came when the right-winger, Vazquez, picked up his second yellow card just after the hour mark. The number 17 went in a tad too strong and should have been more careful after earning a caution in the first half.
Sergio Ramos and Vinicius did everything in their power to tie the match up with 10-men on the pitch, but Rulli was not to be beaten.
Substitute Ruben Pardo put the icing on the cake in the 83rd minute, heading home a nicely placed cross from José who would’ve earned man of the match honors had it not been for the way his goalkeeper played.
Real Madrid now sits in fifth in La Liga, 10 points back of first place Barca and five back of second place Atletico Madrid.
The fans are clearly frustrated, as Sunday’s attendance showed with some 53,000 on hand to see the woeful performance. The attendance is the third worse of the season and the 11th of the year that has not been sold out.
In fact, Los Blancos have sold out just one home match this year – against Atletico Madrid at the end of September.
dark. Next. Why is Real Madrid struggling in La Liga this season?
With the January transfer window now open, president Florentino Perez needs to get off his butt and make some moves to help this team. Yes, Brahim Diaz will be a great addition to the team in the coming years, but for now, he can’t provide an immediate answer.
Los Blancos will take on crosstown foe Leganes in the Copa Del Rey round of 16 on Wednesday as they try to right the sinking ship. More importantly, Madrid will face the team right behind them in the table, Real Betis, next Sunday, on the road.