Real Madrid stutter in title race with goalless draw against Real Sociedad
Having seen their Copa del Rey clash in midweek go into extra time, a leggy Real Madrid could perhaps be forgiven for starting slowly, though they do have the misfortunes of Alexander Sorloth to thank for not falling behind inside five minutes, as his complete airshot with the goal at his mercy let Real off the hook.
This game could perhaps have been better likened to basketball at times, with both sides going hell for leather in search of an opener, but Vinicius Junior and Asier Illarramendi hadn’t quite tuned in their radars as they both flashed efforts inches wide of the target.
Despite being goalless at the break, the first half was a real humdinger, and though the hosts perhaps just shaded it, beating Alex Remiro was proving problematic, as Toni Kroos found out on the stroke of half time.
The deeper this game went, the more it looked like it was heading for a goalless draw, with Karim Benzema’s fluffed chance on the hour mark somewhat symptomatic of the evening from a Los Blancos point of view.
Vinicius was next in a long line of Real players to try their luck, but he again was greeted by Remiro, who was proving an immovable object in the Sociedad goal.
It remained that way too, with Remiro preserving his side’s eighth clean sheet of the league season, which now stands as the joint-second highest in LaLiga.
While a draw may not be catastrophic for Real, it is certainly bruising to their aspirations, with these dropped points coupled with Barcelona’s victory yesterday leaving Carlo Ancelotti’s side five points adrift as they continue to falter in their title defence.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Alex Remiro (Real Sociedad)