May 03, (THEWILL) – Real Madrid’s hopes of closing the La Liga gap with Barcelona at the top suffered another setback, as they lost 2-0 to Real Sociedad in Tuesday night football.
The absence of Vinicius Junior, who was suspended, and the rested Karim Benzema, left Madrid struggling to make an impact in front of goal. On the other hand, Takefusa Kubo, who previously played for Madrid, scored for Sociedad just after half-time, while Ander Barrenetxea secured the win later in the game.
While Barcelona won 1-0 against Osasuna, Real Madrid struggled to keep up without their star players in the mix. Los Blancos early struggles were apparent as Sociedad’s Alex Remiro stopped Eder Militao’s header, and La Real’s Martin Zubimendi hit the crossbar with a flick-on. Thibaut Courtois made a brilliant save with his feet to prevent David Silva from scoring.
Although Mikel Oyarzabal’s penalty appeal was rejected, Kubo was able to take advantage of a careless pass back to Courtois from Militao and score the first goal. Madrid’s woes continued as Dani Carvajal was sent off for a second reckless tackle, and Barrenetxea’s low finish sealed the win for Sociedad.
Real Madrid now trail Barcelona, the La Liga champions-in-waiting, by 14 points with only five games remaining. With their next UEFA Champions League semi-final clash against Manchester City approaching, Madrid may feel the need to prioritise that over their pursuit of La Liga. On Saturday, Real Madrid face Osasuna and Sociedad lock horns with Girona.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
