(Reuters) – Real Madrid secured a statement 2-0 win against Real Sociedad on Saturday after travelling north to San Sebastian as they moved eight points clear at the top of LaLiga.
With striker Karim Benzema forced off after 17 minutes with a hamstring injury, it was once again Vinicius Jr who stood out by scoring his 10th goal of the season and driving the home side’s defence crazy with his boldness and audacity.
Real’s man of the hour, 21-year-old ‘Vini’ has been of one of the standout players in Europe during this campaign and is two goals behind Benzema at the top of LaLiga’s scoring charts.
Luka Jovic, who replaced the injured Benzema, enjoyed his best game as a Real Madrid player, assisting Vinicius for the first goal and scoring the second with a diving header.
It was Real Madrid’s sixth consecutive league win and Real Sociedad’s first home loss of the season.
Real have 39 points, ahead of Sevilla on 31, Real Betis with 30 and Atletico Madrid on 29 with fifth-placed Sociedad. Sevilla, who beat visitors Villarreal 1-0, and Atleti, who lost 2-1 nL1N2SP0FN at home to Mallorca, have a game in hand on their rivals.
Real Madrid won a frenetic high-quality match with both teams trading punches like heavyweights in a title fight.
Sociedad had spent the early part of the season on top of LaLiga but were leapfrogged by Real Madrid two weeks ago.
Both teams defended superbly, with the visitors a little more daring in attack. But Sociedad could have scored on at least three occasions only to hit a wall named Eder Militao. The Brazil international defended superbly, winning every challenge.
Real Madrid improved in the second half, scoring their two goals inside 12 minutes after the break, and had another clear opportunity through Vinicius but the 21-year-old Brazilian failed to score when one-on-one with goalkeeper Alex Remiro.
“We made a complete game,” Real coach Carlo Ancelotti told reporters. “Ball control, defence, between lines, the positional game… What I like the most is that this team knows how to defend. I never doubted the men up front but the commitment shown in defence is very good.”
(Reporting by Fernando Kallas in Madrid; Editing by Ken Ferris and Clare Fallon)
