Real Sociedad 1 – 2 Real Madrid (Oyarzabal; Mbappe, Güler)
Xabi Alonso opted to rest Fede Valverde and Franco Mastantuono, who had just returned from international duty in South America. Dani Ceballos and Brahim Díaz started in their places.
This was a very eventful match. Real Madrid came out flying. Early on, Dani Carvajal found Kylian Mbappe in the box, and the Frenchman danced around the keeper before finding Arda Güler — only for the goal to be disallowed due to an offside in Mbappe’s run.
Not long after, Real Sociedad’s Goti played a horrendous back-pass straight to Mbappe, who punished the mistake by dribbling past his defender and finishing the break:
Mbappe nearly doubled the lead minutes later when his powerful shot from the left struck the post.
A huge moment arrived in the 32nd minute when Dean Huijsen fouled Mikel Oyarzabal to stop a counterattack. With Éder Militão covering, it did not appear to be a clear goalscoring chance. Nonetheless, the referee controversially showed Huijsen a red card, leaving Madrid with 10 men.
Despite the setback, Real Madrid adjusted. Aurélien Tchouameni dropped into center-back, and Los Blancos successfully denied La Real any real penetration or shots on goal in the first half. Just before halftime, Mbappe dazzled again on the left, beating his man and squaring for Güler, who made no mistake this time to double the advantage:
At the break, Alonso introduced Valverde for Brahim to stabilize the midfield after the dismissal.
Real Sociedad came out firing in the second half, and in the 55th minute, Mikel Oyarzabal pulled one back from the penalty spot after Carvajal was penalized for handball. From that point on, Madrid were under siege. La Real pushed aggressively, while Madrid defended deep, clinging to their lead through last-ditch blocks and clearances.
The red card shaped the match, making the second half uncomfortable for Alonso’s men, but they held firm until the final whistle.
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