Real Madrid kept the pressure on Barcelona with a clinical 2-0 victory over Real Sociedad, thanks to penalties from Vinicius Junior and Kylian Mbappe.
The win, which took place at the Reale Arena, saw Carlo Ancelotti’s side close the gap to just one point behind LaLiga leaders Barcelona, who face a tough trip to Girona, currently sitting in fifth place, on Sunday.
Already facing the challenge of several key absentees, including Jude Bellingham, David Alaba, Eduardo Camavinga, and Aurelien Tchouameni, Madrid’s injury troubles worsened when Brahim Diaz was forced off with a muscular issue in the 24th minute.
Despite a goalless first half, Madrid’s persistence paid off in the second period.
The breakthrough came 13 minutes after the restart when Vinicius Junior calmly converted from the penalty spot. The penalty was awarded after Sergio Gomez was found guilty of handling Arda Guler’s goal-bound shot.
Real Madrid were awarded a second penalty later in the game after Vinicius Junior was brought down inside the box, with the decision confirmed after a VAR review.
Kylian Mbappe stepped up and made no mistake, securing the three points and extending Madrid’s unbeaten run in LaLiga to an impressive 37 matches.
Madrid also achieved a historic feat by recording four consecutive away wins against Basque teams for the first time since a similar streak between 2011 and 2013.
In contrast, Real Sociedad’s form at home has taken a significant hit, as they suffered their fourth successive home defeat in the Spanish top flight, a poor run not seen since 2007.
