The referee indicates an additional three minutes of added time.
88'
Isco gets yellow.
Isco goes into a tackle and mistimes it, which forces the referee to produce a late yellow card.
84'
Zubeldia enters the game and replaces Aihen Muñoz.
The final change for Sociedad is in defence, as Munoz is replaced by Zubeldia.
83'
Rubén Pardo has scored a goal for Real Sociedad! Assist by Willian José.
OFF THE BENCH AND ON THE SCORE SHEET! PARDO DOUBLES THE ADVANTAGE! On the pitch for 10 minutes, Pardo runs into the penalty area towards the far post completely unmarked, and gets on the end of Willian Jose’s cross for a header which beats Courtois!
Willian Jose adds to his earlier goal with an assist for Pardo’s lead-doubling finish!
80'
Dani Ceballos enters the game and replaces T. Kroos.
Solari casts his final roll of the dice as he replaces Kroos with Ceballos. His side have 10 minutes, and 10 men to earn a result.
77'
Sergio Reguilón enters the game and replaces Marcelo.
Marcelo is withdrawn in Solari’s second change. Reguilon is called into the fray in his place.
76'
Modric goes into a slide tackle on Zurutuza, giving Sociedad a free-kick in Madrid’s half. The midfielder is walking a tight rope, as he was cautioned just five minutes ago.
75'
L. Modrić gets yellow.
Januzaj is seemingly brought down, but the referee calls for a Real Madrid free-kick following the ensuing handball by the Sociedad player. Modric goes over to ask for a yellow card to be produced, but the referee is unhappy with the feedback, instead booking the Croatia international for his protestations!
73'
Rubén Pardo enters the game and replaces Mikel Merino.
A second change for Sociedad sees Merino replaced by Pardo.
Minute
Description
72'
Courtois makes a crucial save on Zurutuza! The midfielder gets played through onside with Willian Jose waiting in the middle – but he holds onto it for too long and the eventually attempted chip is put out for a corner by the goalkeeper!
71'
Vinicius once again sparks Madrid’s attack as he cuts inside and plays a square pass to Carvajal who promptly lays it forward for Isco. The cross at the end of the move is blocked out for a corner by a Munoz.
69'
Joseba Zaldúa enters the game and replaces Elustondo.
Alguacil tries to break up the play and slow Real Madrid’s pace with a substitution, as Elustondo departs for Zaldua.
63'
NO PENALTY TO REAL MADRID! UNBELIEVABLE SCENES! Vinicius manages to dribble through the entire Sociedad defence before cutting inside, just ahead of the six-yard area! He forces Rulli to come out, and he obliges, rushing to the feet of the winger and apparently bringing him down. The referee deems the challenge to be clean and ball-winning, but the fans have a slightly different view!
61'
Lucas Vázquez gets a second yellow card and is sent off.
THINGS GO FROM BAD TO WORSE AT THE BERNABEU! VAZQUEZ SENT OFF! It looked a standard foul to prevent a counter-attack from Vazquez inside the centre-circle on Merino, but perhaps the forward had forgotten his previous booking in the first half. In any case, he's given his second yellow, and promptly sent off! He is clearly unhappy as he has words with the referee, before proceeding to walk off the pitch and tear his shirt. What a horrible lapse in judgement; one that leaves Real Madrid with 10-men on the pitch for the final half-hour!
59'
Marcelo attempts to clip another ball deep for Vinicius to chase, this time opting to bend it around the outside of Elustondo – but he puts far too much power into the delivery and Rulli is once again alert to the danger.
57'
Isco enters the game and replaces Casemiro.
Solari turns to the bench for inspiration just before the hour-mark as Isco replaces Casemiro – whose third-minute error is the reason for the difference between the sides.
55'
Marcelo plays a spectacular left-foot pass from inside his own area which splits the centre-back and full-back, allowing Vinicius to run through on goal, but the winger takes a heavy first touch, pushing it too far forward and inviting Rulli to come off his line to claim it.
52'
Marcelo gets yellow.
Marcelo catches Januzaj from behind – bringing down the forward and earning the full-back a yellow card.
50'
OYARZABAL CLOSE TO DOUBLING THE LEAD! The Real Madrid penalty area is worryingly open as Zurutuza flashes a pass across the box for Willian Jose who dummies it for Oyarzabal at the far post. His first shot is blocked desperately by Varane, and his second effort clears the crossbar and goes out for a goal-kick!
48'
ALMOST AN EQUALISER! A Real corner comes into the area for Vazquez to attack, but his shot from in-close is blocked! It falls to Varane who tries to whack it in, but it fails to squeeze through the pack of bodies inside the six-yard box! Real Sociedad will have to do much better defending set-pieces!
46'
Real Sociedad get the second half underway from the kick-off!
45' +1
HALF-TIME: REAL MADRID 0-1 REAL SOCIEDAD.
45'
The referee indicates an additional minute at the end of the half for stoppages.
42'
Sociedad have a throw in Madrid territory but poor control from Zurutuza gifts possession back to their opponents before a foul on Benzema gives the hosts a free-kick deep in their own half.
40'
Lucas Vázquez gets yellow.
Vazquez is shown a yellow for a two-footed slide tackle on Oyarzabal in which the Real Madrid players’ leg was raised at a dangerous height.
39'
Oyarzabal has a step on Vazquez as he charges towards Courtois’ goal, but a lack of options means the winger has to pull back and slow down the attack, opting to pass it to his accompanying full-back and killing time in the process. With only six minutes left in the half, Sociedad are looking to enter the interval with the lead.
37'
Kroos once again stands over the ball and loops it in looking for the head of Benzema, but he is once again defended well and the delivery is not allowed to come near him, though Sociedad give up a corner in the process.
36'
Willian José gets yellow.
Following the throw-in, Carvajal is brought down by the trailing leg of Willian Jose – with the Sociedad striker earning the first yellow card of the match for his infraction.
35'
Modric finds Carvajal on the right, but the full-back’s cross is met with a diving header and cleared for a throw-in.
33'
Sociedad are doing very well with 10 minutes left to play in the opening half, pressing the Madrid midfield and causing all sorts of disruptions. The combination of Kroos and Modric have not been allowed to settle, with many of their usual passing lanes closed down. Without a wealth of experienced attacking talent on the bench, Solari will have to make the most of his half-time team talk if he wants a win in his first home fixture of the calendar year.
29'
Januzaj delivers the corner to the far post, right to the foot of Willian Jose but the referee stops play and awards Real Madrid a free-kick for a foul by Moreno on Casemiro during the set-piece – though replays suggest the Real Madrid midfielder tripped over his own feet.
27'
Marcelo tries to use his pace to get past Januzaj, but the forward puts in a lovely sliding challenge from behind which clearly wins the ball – stopping Madrid’s attack. Sociedad use the change in possession to spur an attack of their own which ends in a corner for the visitors.
25'
Oyarzabal wins a free-kick inside his own area after a tussle with Ramos left the winger on the floor during a Madrid corner, which allows the visitors to alleviate the pressure.
23'
A high ball is played forward from Madrid’s midfield, but a deft touch to bring it out of the sky allows Elustondo to win possession despite Marcelo’s proximity. The left-back is bombing forward down the flank acting as an auxiliary forward – illustrating just how desperate the hosts are to get level.
21'
Real Madrid have certainly been the better side since going behind, but their final touch in front of goal has certainly been lacking. The home faithful are seemingly unimpressed with what they're witnessing, as the atmosphere has been sucked out of the stadium despite a couple of clear-cut opportunities for Los Merengues.
19'
Real Madrid’s first corner of the match is taken short to Vazquez who sends it to the back post. It misses the crowd of heads and rolls towards the touchline for Vinicius who brings down Zurutuza in his pursuit of the ball – causing referee Jose Luis Munuera to blow play dead for a foul.
15'
Zurutuza gives away a sloppy foul, pushing over Varane in pursuit of a pass into the penalty area. The set-piece will allow Madrid to clear their lines, but the goalkeeper opts to play it short – trusting his outfield team-mates to carry it into the opposition half.
13'
Oyarzabal gets through the defence with an intelligent run but the delivery is a poor one which goes too far in front of the winger, allowing Courtois to collect easily.
9'
Kroos takes a free-kick from the right-hand side towards the penalty spot, but Willian Jose proves his effectiveness in both boxes, heading away the flat delivery.
7'
It’s been an absolutely breathless first-five minutes in Real Madrid's return to the Bernabeu – their first home match in 2019. It's just the start Alguacil wanted, but at home, Los Merengues are always a tough proposition and his side will have to hold on for 85 nervy minutes.
5'
Vinicius wins a free-kick for his side on the left near the touchline. Kroos whips in the set-piece but it’s cleared immediately as Real Madrid are given no chance to score a quick-fire equaliser.
3'
Penalty goal scored by Willian José for Real Sociedad!
WILLIAN JOSE MAKES NO MISTAKE FROM THE SPOT! It’s 1-0 to Sociedad as the striker takes his penalty with poise and power, lifting it into the roof of the net – right down the middle!
1'
Real Madrid get the match underway from the kick-off!
Hello and welcome to our LIVE commentary of the LaLiga fixture between Real Madrid and Real Sociedad!
Real Madrid returned to domestic action on Thursday following a successful Club World Cup campaign which saw them thrash Al Ain 4-1 in the final. Life in LaLiga hasn’t been as glamorous for the reigning three-time Champions League winners, as a Santi Cazorla double saw Villarreal snatch a point in the last-10 minutes. Madrid enter their 18th league fixture of the season in fifth place – with a win potentially taking them up into third.
REAL SOCIEDAD XI (4-3-3): Geronimo Rulli; Aritz Elustondo, Diego Llorente, Hector Moreno, Aihen Munoz; Mikel Merino, Asier Illarramendi, David Zurutuza; Adnan Januzaj, Willian Jose, Mikel Oyarzabal.
REAL MADRID SUBS: Alvaro Odriozola, Sergio Reguilon, Isco, Nacho, Federico Valverde, Keylor Navas, Dani Ceballos.
REAL MADRID XI (4-3-3): Thibaut Courtois; Marcelo, Sergio Ramos, Raphael Varane, Daniel Carvajal; Luka Modric, Casemiro, Toni Kroos; Vinicius Junior, Karim Benzema, Lucas Vazquez.
With 15 minutes to go before kick-off, the team news has been confirmed! Let's start with the home side!
Injuries are a massive concern for Santiago Solari as he quickly approaches two months as permanent boss of Real Madrid. In that time, he has navigated Los Merengues to seven wins and two defeats – though the task gets harder today without several key attacking players as Gareth Bale, Mariano Diaz and Marco Asensio are all sidelined. With only six goals in five matches in LaLiga under new management, the coaching staff will have to get creative.
REAL SOCIEDAD SUBS: Juanmi, Igor Zubeldia, Joseba Zaldua, Andoni Zubiaurre, Jon Bautista, Ruben Pardo, Robin Le Normand.
Real Sociedad find themselves in 15th, though three points could potentially bring them as high as 11th. It’s been a poor season for the club from San Sebastian as they have only managed 18 goals in 17 games thus far. There seems to be a real disconnect turning defence into attack, as only Valencia have conceded less outside of the top-seven clubs.
Imanol Alguacil is tasked with keeping the side he played for in the top-flight of Spanish football following the Boxing Day sacking of former coach Eusebio Sacristan. Alguacil has yet to manage a match in charge of Real Sociedad, however he did hold the post temporarily in March last year, winning five out of nine matches. His side will need the same kind of spark this time around – as Sociedad have lost four of their last five matches, scoring only once in those defeats.
Breathless from the first minute, this match has had its fair share of chances, though not for the team in the lead. A second-minute penalty awarded to Sociedad following a clear foul by Casemiro inside the penalty area shaped the opening-45 minutes of play, as the hosts were tasked with scoring from very early on. They have taken that to heart and played relatively well, attacking at every opportunity, but Benzema and Vinicius have lacked the killer instinct necessary to finish their chances. Without Bale, Mariano and Asensio, Solari will have to be astute in his changes to earn the victory.
Willian Jose’s penalty – the only difference between the two sides after 45 minutes – was Real Sociedad’s only shot on target in the half as the visitors looked very happy to drop deeper and defend in numbers, preferring to hit on rapid counter-attacks down Oyarzabal’s left flank. They haven’t put themselves in a position to double the advantage, but Alguacil must be pleased with the calmness of his players who are pressing intently and causing Madrid some real concerns – as even the pace of Vinicius hasn’t played too much of a part. With 45 minutes to hang on, Sociedad find themselves 12th in the live table – three spots higher than their pre-match ranking.
That concludes our commentary of the LaLiga fixture between Real Madrid and Real Sociedad! We hope you enjoyed the match!
Real Madrid will look to get back to winning ways when they face Leganes in the Copa Del Rey on Wednesday. Real Sociedad also have a cup clash – facing Real Betis on Thursday.
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