Real Madrid’s preparation for Saturday’s Copa del Rey final has been far from ideal, as they fell to defeat against Real Sociedad at the Estadio Anoeta on Tuesday evening.
Carlo Ancelotti made several changes to the side that defeated Almeria on Saturday. Vinicius Junior (suspended) and Karim Benzema (rested) were unavailable, which prompted a first start of the season for Mariano Diaz.
However, neither he nor his Real Madrid teammates could have the desired effect in San Sebastian, and the hosts had the better of the chances in the first half. David Silva went close, while an effort from Martin Zubimendi rattled the crossbar.
La Real got their reward less than two minutes into the second half. A poor back pass from Eder Militao allowed Takefusa Kubo to open the scoring against his former side, as he finished into an empty net, with Thibaut Courtois stranded.
Things got worse for Real Madrid on the hour mark, as Dani Carvajal was sent off for two bookable offences which occurred less than 10 minutes apart. La Real doubled their lead late on too, with substitute Ander Barrenetxea firing a low strike past Courtois.
Real Madrid could not recover from that point, and they ultimately fell to defeat. That result means that Barcelona can win the league in matchday 34 when they take on Espanyol. Conversely, the title would go to Catalonia if Los Blancos fail to beat Getafe the day before.
Image via Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images
