Real Madrid Edge Past Real Sociedad to Inch Closer to La Liga Title

In a tense La Liga encounter at the Reale Arena, Real Madrid had to dig deep to eke out a hard-fought 1-0 victory over Real Sociedad, moving them within touching distance of clinching their 35th Spanish league title. The match was a tale of two halves, with the hosts dominating proceedings early on, only for a moment of magic from teenage prodigy Arda Guler to swing the pendulum decisively in Madrid’s favor.

The opening exchanges were firmly controlled by the home side, pinning back the defending champions and creating a flurry of chances. Mikel Oyarzabal and Benat Turrientes both went close, while Takefusa Kubo, on loan from Real Madrid, tormented his parent club’s backline with his trickery and work rate.

However, against the run of play and their first meaningful attack, Madrid struck gold through the precocious talents of Arda Guler. The 18-year-old, handed a rare starting berth, showed maturity beyond his years by coolly side-footing home from the edge of the box for his first La Liga goal on his full debut.

The goal seemed to knock the stuffing out of Real Sociedad, who had until then been the better side. Madrid settled into their familiar groove, keeping the ball well and frustrating their opponents’ attempts to draw level before half-time.

The drama was far from over though. Early in the second period, Kubo thought he had equalized, drilling the ball past Kepa Arrizabalaga at the near post. However, the celebrations were cut short as VAR intervened to chalked the goal off for a foul in the build-up.

Real Sociedad were then convinced they should have had a penalty when Mikel Oyarzabal went down under minimal contact from Fran Garcia, but the referee was unmoved.

As the home crowd voiced their displeasure at the officials, Madrid looked to have put daylight between the sides when Federico Valverde found the net. But in farcical scenes, the goal was ruled out retrospectively for a foul by Aurelien Tchouameni, with the entire Real Madrid team having stopped, thinking the advantage would be played.

That late drama failed to change the outcome though, as Ancelotti’s men held firm to open up a 14-point lead over nearest challengers Barcelona, with just five games remaining. Four more points will mathematically confirm them as champions once again.

For Real Sociedad, it was a case of what could have been, having more than matched the European champions for large parts of the game. But the stardust of Guler proved the difference, justifying Ancelotti’s bold call to unleash him from the start as Madrid took another giant stride towards an inevitable title coronation.