Real Madrid 5 Ups And Downs After 0-0 Draw With Real Sociedad

Real Madrid were the better side for most of the 90 minutes, but they couldn’t find the breakthrough.

The biggest concern for Real Madrid in 2020-2021 will be the same as in 2019-2020: scoring goals. Los Blancos had Europe’s best defense last season en route to a 34th La Liga title, but they had only two players, Karim Benzema and Sergio Ramos, with 10 league goals.

On the road at the Anoeta Stadium against Real Sociedad, Los Blancos could not score a single goal. They put five past La Real in their two La Liga matches against them last season, so this was a step back.

Here are three ups and two downs from a 0-0 draw to start the 2020-2021 season.

Up: Real Madrid’s center backs show no weaknesses

Raphael Varane knew he had a big task ahead of him against Real Sociedad’s talented attack, featuring striker Alexander Isak up top. Isak scored two goals against Los Merengues earlier this year when La Real knocked Madrid out of the Copa del Rey, and Varane needed to shake off a poor performance at Manchester City.

He did just that, winning the official Man of the Match honors. Varane put his body on the line mulitple times, mostly namely on a blocked shot attempt.

Sergio Ramos was just as good. His clever passing was a highlight, and he even had a turn that led to a Real Sociedad attacker falling flat on his face.

Neither man was truly tested defensively, as La Real’s talented attack found it difficult to find space against them, unless if they were exploiting space left behind by right back Dani Carvajal.