Real Madrid returned from the international break with a hard-fought victory in San Sebastián against Real Sociedad (0-2). Xabi Alonso's team secured the victory in the first half, with goals from Kylian Mbappé and Arda Güler. With this, the 'merengue' team maintains its perfect record in LaLiga EA Sports, with 12 points out of 12 possible.
The Whites took control of the match from the start, taking advantage of the Donostiarra's defensive fragility. Güler opened the scoring in just the 3rd minute, with a goal disallowed for a previous offside by 'Kiki'. Remiro intervened in the 6th minute to catch a dangerous shot from Mbappé, but the locals could only hold the zero for five more minutes.
Real Madrid complicated things with the expulsion of Dean Huijsen
In the 11th minute, a childish mistake by Mikel Goti opened the door for a lethal counterattack from Madrid. A bad pass from the midfielder allowed Mbappé to go on a run and the Frenchman, with his typical finish opening his foot, shot Remiro to put the visitors ahead.
Madrid put the 'txuri urdines' against the ropes, but the match took an unexpected turn in the 32nd minute with the expulsion of Dean Huijsen. The centre-back brought down Mikel Oyarzabal when the striker was running towards the area and the main referee Jesús Gil Manzano did not hesitate to show him the direct red card, a decision protested by the entire 'merengue' bench.
Despite the numerical inferiority, the Whites continued to attack and, in the 44th minute, they would extend their lead with a great goal from Arda Güler. The Turk filtered a pass towards the back line for Mbappé and the Frenchman returned the wall pass. Entering the area with confidence, the Ankara native finished past Remiro with a beautiful toe-poke.
Thus, Xabi Alonso's team went to the break with the match almost resolved, but Real would get back into the result after a notable reaction in the first quarter of an hour of the second half.
Real revived thanks to a penalty from Oyarzabal, but it wasn't enough
At halftime, Xabi put Fede Valverde in place of Brahim Díaz to reorganize his defense, with Tchouaméni dropping back as a centre-back. Real, however, settled into the opponent's half as the minutes passed and, in the 53rd minute, an action on the right resulted in a very clear handball by Dani Carvajal inside the area.
The neighborhood captain slid on the grass to try to cut off the cross, but left his right arm extended and the ball hit his hand. Oyarzabal took charge of the penalty, deceiving Thiabut Courtois with an impeccable left-footed strike. In 55 minutes, the Donostiarras were back in the game, while Madrid suffered after losing control of the midfield.
The 'merengue' coach had no choice but to put Raúl Asencio and Fran García on for Dani Ceballos and Vinicius, but Real continued to dominate. However, the locals lacked depth to reach the equalizer and Madrid held on to the minimum advantage with difficulties, sheltered by Courtois' saves.
With the victory, the Whites have 12 points, 5 more than FC Barcelona pending what happens on Sunday against Valencia. Real Sociedad, on the other hand, remains in relegation places with only 2 points in 4 games. Next weekend, the Basques visit Betis (Friday) and Real Madrid plays at home against Espanyol (Saturday).
Match details: Real Sociedad 1-2 Real Madrid
- Real Sociedad, 1: Remiro; Elustondo (Aramburu, min. 57), Zubeldia, Caleta-Car, Sergio Gómez; Marín (Zajarián, min. 66), Gorrotxategi (Karrikaburu, min. 78); Goti (Soler, min. 57), Barrenetxea, Guedes (Kubo, min. 66); Oyarzabal
- Real Madrid, 2: Courtois; Carvajal (Alexander-Arnold, min. 82), Militao, Huijsen, Carreras; Ceballos (Asencio, min. 68), Tchouaméni, Güler (Alaba, min. 87); Brahim (Valverde, min. 46), Vinicius (Fran García, min. 68) and Mbappé.
- Goals: 0-1, Kylian Mbappé (min. 12); 0-2, Arda Güler (min.44); 1-2, Mikel Oyarzabal (min. 56, p.).
- Referee: Jesús Gil Manzano. Sent off Dean Huijsen with a direct red card in the first half. Awarded a penalty in the second half for a handball inside the area by Dani Carvajal. For Real Sociedad, he cautioned Igor Zubeldia and Ander Barrenetxea. In Madrid, he cautioned Mbappé.
- Stadium: Municipal de Anoeta, in San Sebastián.
- Incidents: match corresponding to matchday 4 of LaLiga EA Sports 2025/26.