Real Madrid: 5 players to watch on Real Sociedad in the season opener

CM Mikel Merino

Real Sociedad could only earn one point from their opener against Real Valladolid, drawing 1-1 against Ronaldo’s team, but they did have the best player on the pitch in Mikel Merino. Last season, Merino was just as important to La Real’s success as Martin Odegaard, though he didn’t get as many plaudits as more of a holding player.

Merino had eight aerial duels won against Valladolid over the weekend and won five per game in 2019-2020, per WhoScored.com. He deserves more recognition around Europe as one of the best midfielders in the continent, and the 24-year-old even scored five goals for Sociedad last year.

Alongside David Silva, Merino will be key part of the midfield battle on Sunday.

FW Portu

Another highly underrated player outside of La Liga, Portu was one of Real Sociedad’s stars in their exciting 2019-2020 campaign. The Spanish international had a whopping 15 goal contributions in the league last year, splitting them evenly among goals and assists as a creative wide forward with scoring traits.

Portu is versatile enough to play anywhere, but he likes to play on the right. Look for him to try and drift inside and take advantage of the times Sergio Ramos is bombing up the pitch.