Immediate Reaction: Real Madrid 4-1 Real Sociedad

Real Madrid 4-1 Real Sociedad (Camavinga, Modrić, Benzema & Asensio). Here is the immediate reaction to the big victory. Make sure to catch: press conference highlights, player ratings and the post game podcast.

Squad rotation had clearly not been at the forefront of Carlo Ancelotti’s mind in recent months as he has looked to secure as many results as possible - but rumour had it that today would be different. The threat of Real Sociedad is always real, but with potentially the biggest game of the season yet coming up in the week against PSG, you’d think that resting certain players could end up being beneficial. As it turned out, not as much was changed as initially predicted. Eduardo Camavinga did come into the midfield, but both Toni Kroos and Fede Valverde were already deemed unavailable so the space was always going to be available. David Alaba returned from injury in defence, and Rodrygo Goes was opted for ahead of Marco Asensio. Karim Benzema put the captains armband on once again to lead the team out.

This was a really good opportunity for some players to play their way back into contention, but the half started on a bad note as David Silva was brought down in the box by Dani Carvajal to earn the visitors a penalty. Mikel Oyarzabal made no mistake to find the bottom corner and put Madrid behind. Vinícius Júnior and Rodrygo Goes were causing problems on the wings with their speed, but it was beginning to feel like it was going to be a typically frustrating evening in front of goal. That was until out of nowhere Eduardo Camavinga let rip an accurate strike from distance that gave Álex Remiro no chance in goal to equalise. This sent the stadium, and the game into frenzy mode as Karim Benzema appeared to put the hosts ahead seconds after the restart. A dubious call of offside kept things level, but not for long as just before half time Luka Modrić fancied scoring a world class goal of his own - shifting onto his weaker foot before arrowing a shot into the top corner past a helpless Remiro once again. It was almost a shame to hear the whistle for the pause as the electric atmosphere had to take a 15 minute break...

Sadly the second half didn’t carry through the momentum of the final phase of the first. The place dropped significantly and the player base changed as Sociedad made four substitutions to try their luck. Benzema injected some excitement back into the game as he volleyed a loose ball home, only to have his goal ruled out once again - this time correctly for a Rodrygo offside in the build up. VAR was needed once again to decide whether Vinícius Júnior had been fouled in or outside of the area. It was deemed he was on the line, meaning Benzema now had the chance to pull a goal back from the spot. He sent the keeper the wrong way to do just that, and make it 3-1 to Los Blancos. The game was then put to rest as Madrid found a fourth, as substitute Marco Asensio continued his recent scoring form after being handed the ball on a plate by Dani Carvajal. Real Sociedad had to end the game with ten men as a player went off injured after all their allocated changes had been made. With minutes to go it made little difference as Real Madrid finished as 4-1 winners. This was a much needed score-line and performance that hopefully injects the confidence needed to put in an equal shift midweek in Europe. Follow the social media channels to join in with all the post match analysis coming your way! What did you think about the result?