Real Madrid vs Real Sociedad

Score  2 – 0

14 September 2024

Reale Arena Stadium (Real Sociedad)

First Half Highlights

Real Madrid needed to win this game as they have already lost 4 points. Real Sociedad is also a very strong team to defeat, so today, Real Madrid had to prove their strength and skill in this match. Madrid was in an orange uniform which looked a bit odd to me.

In the 2nd minute, Vini fouled Kobe, an opponent player near the 18-yard line. Their free kick shot went straight toward the goal and the keeper, Courtois punched the ball out and it was a corner for Sociedad. However, they could not capitalize on the corner kick.  

In the 7th minute, Mbappe took the ball inside the box from the right side and had a close-range shot, but it was well blocked by the Sociedad keeper. This was Mbappe’s first attempt on a goal and hoped many more would be there. 

There was a corner kick for Sociedad in the 8th minute. The ball was sent out by Courtois and Sociedad had another corner ball. This time Carvajal easily cleared it. For the first 10 minutes of the game, Sociedad had slightly dominated, with Madrid mainly defending in their half. 

In the 18th minute, Brahim passed a good ball to Mbappe, who took it into the box, surrounded by several opposing players. He had a quick shot of the ball by his left foot from the right side of the box. The Sociedad keeper actively blocked the shot by his body and the ball flew miles away from the post for safety. It was a good attempt by Mbappe and the chance seemed to come out of nowhere this time. 

In this game, Brahim and Guler were starting players. But in the 23rd minute, Brahim had a problem with his hamstring muscle and was replaced by Rodrygo. I hoped that he was not hurt badly as he is one of the brilliant players of the team. 

By the 25th minute, Real Madrid had 59% possession, while Real Sociedad had 41%.

There was a missed pass by Rudiger to Kobe, an opponent player, and he passed the ball to his teammate. The teammate ran with the ball and just at the edge of the box, took a powerful shot at the goalpost. Luckily, the ball hit the left top bar and bounced back into play. It was a sudden and good attack created by Sociedad. It was the Sociedad’s best chance of the game so far. 

Around this time, Vini started playing more centrally, while Mbappé moved to his favored position on the left flank. Rodrygo, as usual, stayed on the right but frequently switched sides, as he often does.

In the 28th minute, a defender fouled Vinicius unnecessarily and he got a yellow card for this. Modric took the free kick, it was well-headed by Rudiger, but the keeper handed the ball and it went out for a corner for Madrid. It was a good save by the Sociedad keeper. 

Immediately after the corner kick, there was a counterattack by Sociedad. There was one Madrid player against two attackers, but the other defenders too quickly arrived, and one of the Sociedad players was flagged off-side, so the attempt turned out to be futile. 

When a Madrid player tried to clear the ball from the left-back area, the ball landed on the opposition player, who passed it to another teammate inside the box. He took a perfect shot at the goalpost, but again, the ball hit the top bar while Courtois was on the ground. Sociedad’s bad luck continued.

Seconds later, Madrid led an attack and Mbappe had a chance to shoot from his left position, but his effort went wide of the right post.

In the 39th minute, there was a lot of hustle and bustle that occured inside the Madrid box, and a couple of shots were fired by Sociedad players at the post without any result though. It was certainly a very tough time for Madrid players, only their luck kept them safe so far looked like. There was a powerful shot from the left flank and it was well blocked by Courtois, but the ball went rolling from the Madrid player to the Sociedad player’s feet. And he had a 2nd shot attempt but it was blocked by a Madrid defender. Again the ball was in the feet of Guler, but taken away by another attacking player and he too had a very powerful shot at the post. This 3rd shot went out slightly above the top. The Sociedad had continuously three attempts at the goal post but all failed to produce the result. 

Courtois seemed to have some discomfort in his ribcage and he was treated by the medical team for a while. He continued playing afterward as it was not a serious issue. 

In the 45th minute, Vini was fouled near the 18-yard line, and Modric took the free kick. His shot was blocked by the wall of players, and Guler had the 2nd attempt at the ball and that too was blocked. Mbappe got the corner ball after a tangle with a defender. Nothing came out of the corner but Madrid won a 2nd corner. Carvajal headed the 2nd corner ball, the ball went high and wide of the post for an out ball. 

By this time, Madrid had taken 9 shots, while Sociedad had 8 shots at the goalpost. 

In the extra time of 3 minutes, goalkeeper Remiro’s pass was intercepted by Modric, who passed to Mbappe. Mbappe then gave the ball to Vini, but his goal shot was blocked by a defender.

The first half hadn’t been that good for Real Madrid. They had been favored by luck as Sociedad’s couple of good balls did not find the inside of the goalpost. We hoped to see a more exciting game in the 2nd half of the game. 

Second Half Highlights

The second half began, and within a minute, Sociedad had another golden opportunity. A player passed the ball inside the box, and he in turn passed the ball to another player who sent the ground ball aiming the far left corner of the post under the feet of Mendy. The ball again 3rd time hit the pole only and got deflected. Once again, luck saved the Madrid team, and Sociedad’s continuous ill fortune the ball kept hitting the bars only.

Madrid got a corner in the 52nd minute and Modric took the shot as usual. The ball was well received by Militao and he headed the ball for the goal, but the ball went straight into the hand of the goalkeeper. 

So far in the game, Madrid had not been able to play their impressive and dominating game at all. The game remained balanced as Sociedad also led quite many dangerous attacks. Madrid struggled to launch continuous attacks due to the lack of service from the midfielders. 

In the 57th minute, Guler took a powerful shot from just outside the box, and a Sociedad defender raised his hand and blocked the ball. The referee immediately awarded a penalty. Vinicius took the penalty and scored the first goal of the match. This was a big relief for Real Madrid, who had struggled to score until then.

In the 60th minute, Mbappé received the ball in his half and sprinted past several opponents up to the opposing box. Surrounded by four players, he ultimately stumbled and fell. It was a massive effort, showing his determination to push his team forward. The commentator called him the “prince of football.”

In the 62nd minute, a Sociedad player crossed the ball into the box, but the attacking player couldn’t reach it. It was a dangerous situation, as he was ahead of the defenders and close to the goal.

In the 69th minute, Sociedad earned a free kick on Madrid’s left flank. The ball was headed toward the goal by a Sociedad player, but Courtois managed to push it out for a corner. Sociedad then got two more chances in quick succession, but they couldn’t convert.

In the 72nd minute, Valverde passed the ball to Vini on the left flank and Vini rushed into the box. A defender stepped on Vini’s foot, and though the referee initially ignored it, VAR intervened. After reviewing the footage, the referee awarded a penalty. Mbappe took it and scored the second goal, sending the keeper the wrong way.

In the 89th minute, Endrick replaced Mbappe. Endrick had been given just a few minutes of the game so far. 

Real Sociedad played well throughout the game, and Madrid had to defend actively. Madrid struggled to create dangerous chances at Sociedad’s goal. Sociedad looked more threatening at times, especially with their three shots hitting the crossbar. If not for the penalties, the game might have ended in a draw.

In the extra time of the 92nd minute, a ball was thrown into the box of Madrid, but an attacking player could not reach the ball by heading and missed to use the good ball. 

In the dying minutes of extra time, Modric went for the goalpost shot from a distance and it was a power shot, but the keeper punched away the ball with both of his hands and Madrid earned a corner. Shortly after, the final whistle blew, ending the game. 

Kylian Mbappe was named Man of the Match. 

Although Madrid scored two goals via penalties, their overall performance was average. At times, Sociedad looked more dangerous. Vini didn’t create as many dangerous passes as he usually does. Madrid will need to work harder and find that extra edge to improve in future games. That killer passes to the forwards, the kind that leads to goals were missing.

Statistics

Real Madrid                                     Real Sociedad

52%               Ball Possession               48%

16                  Total Shots                         11

6                    Shots on target                 2

8                    Blocked shots                   4

6                    Corner kicks                     6

80                 Attacks                                97

9                    Fouls                                   12

2                    Saves                                   4

1                    Yellow Card                      4

(Source: scorevisit.com)