Real Sociedad 1-2 Real Madrid: Xabi Alonso’s side show fighting spirit to win with ten men
Real Madrid were going to have much to say about the refereeing if they had dropped points in this game, but after 90 minutes it won’t be match officials on Xabi Alonso’s mind so much as the fighting spirit very much evident in his squad.
Los Blancos survived an hour with ten men in San Sebastian, after Dean Huijsen had been controversially sent off just after the half hour. The key moment came when Real Sociedad’s Mikel Oyarzabal chased down a ball over the top into Madrid’s half and was dragged down by Huijsen. The referee ruled Oyarzabal had run past the Madrid backline and Huijsen had denied him a clear goalscoring opportunity.
The controversy was whether it was a clear goalscoring opportunity, as Eder Militao was racing alongside Huijsen and Oyarzabal and could possibly have blocked the Sociedad man. Xabi Alonso protested this point fiercely, holding up his fingers to indicate there were two Madrid defenders and Huijsen was not the last man. Too fiercely, which earned him a booking of his own.
Madrid had started brilliantly, having a first goal ruled out for offside before Kylian Mbappe raced onto a poor back pass in the 12th minute and punished Sociedad clinically to put Madrid in control.
Then Huijsen was dismissed, but that didn’t dampen Madrid’s spirit, and they didn’t go on the defence. Aurelien Tchouameni merely dropped into the centre-back position and Los Blancos continued to match their suddenly vibrant opponents. This was similar to the performance in the Club World Cup game against Pachuca when Madrid were reduced to ten men but continued to be aggressive, scoring two first half goals before ultimately winning 3-1.
Against Sociedad too they added a second just before half time despite their deficit. Mbappe showed some clever footwork to turn around Aritz Elustondo before driving into the box near the byline and poking a neat pass into Arda Guler, who then collected and, gliding into the six-yard box, poked his finish beyond the impressive Alex Remiro.
Oyarzabal converted a penalty in the second half to bring Sociedad back into the contest, after Dani Carvajal had handled the ball in the box. Then Madrid’s resistance was tested. Ander Barrenetxea, Arsen Zakharyan and Oyarzabal all threatened, and Thibaut Courtois was called upon to make crucial saves, including one low stop from Duje Caleta-Car in the final minutes.
It looked at times like an equaliser might come, but Alonso’s side dug in to maintain their perfect start to the season.
