Real Sociedad Stuns Real Madrid In 4-2 Come-From-Behind Victory
Real Sociedad handed down one of the most humiliating defeats to current UEFA Champions League title holders, Real Madrid. The latter fell apart and blew a 2-0 lead, only to lose the match 4-2.
Los Blancos were without its main star Cristiano Ronaldo, after he was benched by manager Carlo Ancelotti due to nagging injuries. Real Madrid looked uninspired, following a first half that was simply dominating.
Ancelotti’s men took the lead in the sixth minute when newbie Toni Kroos served the perfect corner to Sergio Ramos, who was unforgiving and put the football past Real Sociedad goalkeeper Enaut Zubikarai. Rmos was close, again at the ninth minutes when he hit the cross bar on a free kick.
Real Madrid scored the second goal after Gareth Bale made good use of Modric’s pass and found the net at the 11th minute. However Madrid showed some troubling deficiencies, not only in the defense, but the midfield which at time looked simply flat.
This was not only a match Real Madrid had to play without Ronaldo, but it was the first since the much-talked-about Angel Di Maria trade to Manchester United and the loss of Xabi Alonso. It was plain to see that both left a big gap.
Even though Real Sociedad should have been done after such a deficit, Madrid let them back into the game and confirmed fans’ fears that the Di Maria trade was not a good idea. At the half, Sociedad had tied the match 2-2 with goals from Iñigo Martínez, who scored a cross at 36 minutes and Zurutuza, who was left unmarked and found the net just minutes before the break.
Zurutuza struck again at the 65th minute and striker Carlos Vela, who came to Real Sociedad from Arsenal, left the bench to score in the 76th minute and essentially put the last nail in Real Madrid’s coffin. The result was sobering.
Real Madrid captain and goal keeper, Iker Casillas summed up the nightmarish match against Real Sociedad:
“After 15 minutes we thought the victory was ours but in the end it was a horrible performance from us and we have to learn from this.”
“We have a very important badge on our shirts and we have to honor that. We have all been guilty tonight. It was not just the defensive performance the whole team has to be held responsible.”
Real Sociedad, for which this match was a must-win, has consigned the mighty Real Madrid to 10th place in La Liga standings, unfamiliar territory for a team that has spent millions in the off-season. Ancelotti was left furious at what he called the complacency of his team and apologized to fans:
“This is a loss that I do not like at all because I think occasionally you can play badly but when you lead 2-0 you have to show the required attitude to see out the game.”
“It is my responsibility. Something has to change and it will…I am sorry because I do not like it that the team have played in this way. You have to quickly change the things that have not gone well.”
Even though Real Sociedad showed Real Madrid’s current deficiencies, Ancelotti is defending all the newcomers saying James Rodriguez and Toni Kroos. All need time to find a groove. In the meantime, Barcelona sits pretty on top of La Liga, six points ahead of Madrid.
[Image via Twitter]
