Player Ratings: Real Madrid 3 - Real Sociedad 4; 2020 Copa Del Rey

Zinedine Zidane will have to wait to win his first Copa Del Rey trophy after Madrid were knocked out at home to a fun attacking Real Sociedad team. It was a seven goal thriller with Martin Odegaard returning to the Bernabeu to haunt his parent club. The Norwegian scored the first and then threaded a beautiful assist for Real Sociedad’s second - only for VAR to disallow the goal due to an offside call. But, that would not stop the Real Sociedad attack, who were able to breeze past Madrid’s midfield and exploit their heavily rotated defense. Alexander Isak was the star of the show, he scored two superb goals and at one point led La Real to a 3-0 lead over the men in white. If not for a scintillating performance from Vinicius JR, Madrid likely would have had no answer to Imanol’s Real Sociedad. A late surge from Real Madrid, with goals from Marcelo, Rodrygo, and Nacho, were not enough to overturn the result. Full match ratings below:

Alphonse Areola—4: Not a good night for the French goalkeeper. Allowed Martin Odegaard’s weak shot to deflect through his legs and was nervy all through the night.

Nacho—4: Scored a late goal from a Benzema cross to bring Madrid within one of Real Sociedad, but that would be the lone positive memory for Nacho. Was left embarrassed by 18-year-old Barrenetxea after losing a 1 v 1 duel and allowing the pacey young winger to flight a ball into the towering Swede, Alexander Isak, who smashed the volley in the back of the net.

Eder Militao—4.5: A frustrated figure as he was often left on his own to try and mop up Real Sociedad’s counter attacks. Struggled to cover the space left behind Nacho and looked out of sorts all match. One of his weakest performances since arriving.

Sergio Ramos—4.5: The back-line was at sixes and sevens, how many times were marks left wide open in the box? Alexander Isak had a field day against Militao and Ramos.

Marcelo—3.5: Did score the first goal of Madrid’s attempted comeback, but his performance was well below the standard expected of a Real Madrid fullback. The right side of Real Sociedad’s flank was able to move down the pitch with ease.

Fede Valverde—5.5: Tried his best to occupy the vacant defensive midfielder position, but was spread too thin. Left gaping holes in the middle of the pitch, which Odegaard exploited on the first goal thanks to all three midfielders failing to track or being out of position.

Toni Kroos—4.5: Completely failed to track Martin Odegaard on Real Sociedad’s opening goal. Felt disconnected in the second half with little to note from his match.

James Rodriguez—4: Had one good effort on goal in the first half, but aside from that was slow and apathetic in his movements and efforts. Has not looked himself since coming back from injury.

Brahim—5.5: Almost tried to do too much tonight. Held on to the ball a little too long on certain occasions and was trying too hard to make the most of his first start this season. Late in the game, did start to make an improved impact and managed to grab an assist on Marcelo’s goal.

Karim Benzema—5.5: Had a couple of shots on target in the first half and produced the assist for Nacho on Real Madrid’s third goal. But, like most of the team, the final geared never clicked tonight.

Vinicius JR—8.5: The only Real Madrid player that played well. Vinicius JR is back to his absolute best. Dips in form will always come and go, but on his day, Vinicius is a game-changer. Those players are worth their weight in gold. Gorosabel will have nightmares tonight, thinking about the Brazilian running at him. Was disallowed a goal via VAR, but did manage an assist to his compatriot Rodrygo and was unlucky not to have another to Benzema.

Substitutions:

Luka Modric—5: Brought on at halftime for James Rodriguez but couldn’t bring the stability that Madrid desperately needed in midfield.

Rodyrgo—6.5: Scored Real Madrid’s second goal, after brilliant individual play from Vinicius JR.

Luka Jovic—4: Brought on to try and complete the comeback, but wasn’t provided with a single opportunity.