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31.08.2014 » Real Sociedad 4-2 Real Madrid. It's time to wake up!
Real Madrid debuted their brand new pink uniforms this season, but they keep on struggling inexplicably after losing categorically to Real Sociedad in the Anoeta stadium by 4 goals to 2. Sergio Ramos and Gareth Bale delivered what seemed to be a precious 2-goal lead to the Merengues, but then an unexpected collapse took place. The hosts didn't drop their arms and were rewarded by successfully turning things around int their favor, thanks to goals from Inigo Martinez, Zurutuza (twice) and Carlos Vela. Deprived of Cristiano Ronaldo, who continues recovering from muscle problems in his left leg, Real Madrid showed their worst version of the season in the second half of the game, making mistakes after mistakes at the back and proving themselves incapable of creating danger and threatening Real Sociedad's goal as the circumstances demanded.
Real Sociedad 4-2 Real Madrid goals and highlights video:
The Merengues dropped the first points in La Liga right in their first away fixture and they got no one else to blame but themselves. After the departures of Xabi Alonso to Bayern Munich and Angel Di María to Manchester United, the European champions suddenly seem to have realized that the squad they have in hands isn't as depth as they thought it was. Ancelotti went into last night's game with Iker Casillas in goal, Marcelo on the left, Sergio Ramos and Pepe in the center, and Carvajal on the right. The midfield tasks were handed over to Toni Kroos, Luka Modric and Isco, while the three attacking positions were taken by James Rodríguez, Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema.
The opener arrived quite early in the first half, with Carlo Ancelotti's men capitalizing on a corner-kick over the left attacking side. Toni Kroos sent a good weighted cross into the box and Sergio Ramos rose in the air to exemplarily head it past Zubikarai and deliver the Merengues the first lead of the night. It was also Ramos' first goal of the season, whose last goal for Real Madrid had been in the Champions League final last May, against Atletico Madrid.
Real Madrid would confirm their good start in the 11th minute, after a beautiful individual action brought by the former Tottenham star, Gareth Bale. The Welshman was picked inside the box through a low pass by Carvajal and as he turned around with a Sociedad defender on his back, he nutmegged him with a masterful touch and finished it off with an accurate left-foot strike that left no chance at all for Zubikarai to reach to it. With the 0-2 on the scoreboard before the end of the first quarter of an hour, at the time, Ancelotti was probably thinking that he couldn't have asked for a better start...
However, what happened next was a true calamity in Real Madrid's focus, intensity and organization. First and foremost, a great credit has also to be given to Real Sociedad's men, who never really gave up and showed the determination and belief required to turn around a 2-goal deficit game against such a strong opponent as Real Madrid is, at least on paper.
The hosts initiated the comeback by reducing Real Madrid's lead in the 35th minute, following a corner kick that clearly exposed the Merengues' blatant weakenesses when defending set-pieces. After a slight deflection in the near post by Granero, it was Inigo Martínez who came in at the far post to push the ball into the back of the net and give Real Sociedad's fans the first reasons to cheer for.
The equalizer came in still before the half-time break and once again, a cross delivered into the heart of Real Madrid's box caught the defense completely out of position. De La Bella was Sociedad's man sending in the pass this time and the finishing header was delivered by David Zurutuza, who showed a lot more determination and courage than Marcelo when attacking the ball.
The worst was yet to arrive though, as the second-half basically belonged to Real Sociedad. The Basques completed the "remontada" when Zurutuza scored his double in the game around the 65th minute. The Spanish forward was lurking in the box when Sergio Canales and Xabi Prieto tore apart Real Madrid's defense through Marcelo's side and then an assist from Sociedad's captain allowed for Zurutuza to beat Iker Casillas for the second time on the night. The final score was to be sealed with a fourth Basque goal roughly 10 minutes later and again, through another corner-kick. The former Arsenal striker, Carlos Vela, was left unmarked inside the box with all the space and time in the world at his disposal and after controlling the cross with what appeared to be part of his shoulder and part of his arm, the Mexican slammed it past Iker Casillas to make it 4-2 for Real Sociedad. Just too bad to be true from Real Madrid's perspective...
With tonight's defeat, Real Madrid now sits in 10th place in La Liga, with 3 points earned after only a couple of rounds completed. Barcelona leads the league with 2 wins out of 2 games and they are curiously the only team in Spain still holding a perfect record with only 2 fixtures played so far. Cristiano Ronaldo is expected to return to action on September 13 against Atletico Madrid (in a league fixture), since due to his injury, he has been spared from Portugal's EURO 2016 qualifier against Albania, scheduled for next Sunday (September 7).
Real Madrid line-up vs Real Sociedad:
Goalkeeper: Iker Casillas
Defenders: Marcelo, Pepe, Sergio Ramos, Carvajal
Midfielders: Modric, Kroos, Isco
Attackers: Gareth Bale, James Rodríguez, Karim Benzema.
| Match stats provided by www.ronaldo7.net
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|---|---|---|
Real Sociedad
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vs
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Real Madrid
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4 |
Goals |
2 |
13 |
Shots |
19 |
5 |
Shots on goal |
5 |
8 |
Corner kicks |
6 |
12 |
Fouls commited |
12 |
1 |
Yellow cards |
2 |
0 |
Red cards |
0 |
45% |
Ball possession |
55% |
Cristiano Ronaldo next game for Real Madrid will be against Atletico Madrid, in the third fixture of La Liga, on September 13. In the meanwhile we'll have an international break and you can watch Portugal vs Albania, France vs Spain, England vs Norway, Germany vs Argentina, and Czech Republic vs USA, all matches provided from our free football streaming pages.
Portugal next game:
Portugal vs Albania kick-off time (07-09-2014):
Jakarta (Indonesia) | GMT+7: 01:45
Spain (Madrid) | GMT+2: 20:45
Portugal and England (Lisbon/London) | GMT+1: 19:45
Rio de Janeiro (Brazil) | GMT-3: 15:45
New York (United States) | GMT-4: 14:45
Los Angeles (United States) | GMT-7 11:45
Beijing (China) | GMT+8: 02:45
Sources: ronaldo7.net / realmadrid.com / goal.com
