Real Madrid achieved its eighth consecutive victory in league matches, ending the night at the top of the standings, putting pressure on Barcelona, who must win on Monday in Girona to reclaim first place. This was a morale-boosting victory ahead of the European challenge on Tuesday at the Estádio da Luz. Injuries forced both coaches to make changes from their recent lineups. Arbeloa, certainly thinking about the challenge against Benfica, left Mbappé on the bench, who is just recovering from a knee issue. Asensio, who has been playing with a tibia injury, was also left out, with Rudiger taking his place. On the right side of defense, Carvalhal's expected return did not happen, and Trent was chosen instead. The Englishman seems to be in better shape, showcasing his great ability to overlap down the flank as if he were an additional forward. With all this, the Madrid coach opted for a four-man midfield: Valverde, Tchouaméni, Arda Guler, and Camavinga, with Vinicius and Gonzalo up front. For Real Sociedad, the physical toll from the match against Bilbao in the Copa del Rey semi-finals midweek forced Matarazzo to refresh the team, leaving out some regular starters, including Gonçalo Guedes, who is dealing with a slight injury sustained in the final minutes of that Copa del Rey match. Real Madrid needed little time to take the lead. Trent made a good pass from the right that Gonzalo capitalized on, being quicker than the defender marking him and beating Remiro. It's curious what happens with this young player; in matches where he has played alongside Mbappé, he has not scored a single goal, but without the Frenchman in the team, he has already netted 11 goals. The explanation may lie in the fact that when both Mbappé and Vinícius are playing, Gonzalo has to drop back more to help the defense. Without one of them, Gonzalo can showcase his qualities as a goal-scoring striker. Real reacted well to this unexpected goal, and a quarter later, managed to equalize thanks to a clear penalty committed by Huijsen on Herrera, a clear mistake by the young defender who started the season very well but has been raising serious doubts for some time now. Oyarzabal, tasked with taking the penalty, did not miss and leveled the score. From penalty to penalty, less than five minutes after the first, Aramburu brought down Vinícius inside the area. The Brazilian, with a stutter step included, scored Madrid's second goal. The third soon followed; in a good attacking play, the ball reached Valverde, who from the central area saw a vacant space and managed to slot the ball through, which Remiro could not reach. This Uruguayan is a great player who, after spending some time playing as a right-back, has recovered his best version in midfield. With this goal, Real had the game under control and could have extended their lead further if Gonzalo had not missed a great opportunity to score again just before halftime, sending the ball over the bar from close range. Real Madrid went into halftime with a two-goal advantage, a well-deserved reward for their superiority in a first half that was one of their best of the entire season, showcasing good movements with and without the ball, taking advantage of the spaces granted by the visiting defense and benefiting from Trent's excellent passes. Upon resuming, Guedes appeared in place of Wesley in a desperate attempt by Real Sociedad to turn the difficult situation around, but it didn't take long for their slim hopes to vanish. Vinícius entered the area, executing one of his typical plays. Aramburu came in from behind to deflect the ball, but the referee interpreted it as a foul, and Vinícius, tasked with taking the penalty, did not fail, establishing the final score at 4-1. With this goal, everything was decided. Real Sociedad did what they could to try to react. Gonçalo Guedes may have been the target of a penalty, but the play would have been invalidated because he touched the ball with his arm. However, he was always very active, trying, in an impossible mission, to swim against the tide. A goal he could have scored was saved by Carvajal. There were opportunities on both sides for the score to change again, but ultimately, with a very complete performance and Vinícius in great form, Real Madrid showed that they can also function without Mbappé. They managed to nullify Real Sociedad's game, which arrived threatening but was not effective either defensively or offensively; nothing came of what the Madrid team feared. Pellegrino Materazzo, the coach of Real, had never seen the Bernabéu and had also never lost since becoming the coach of Real Sociedad. But there is always a first time for everything.
Real Madrid Luz Real Madrid remains central to this story.
Real Madrid Luz Real Madrid remains central to this story.
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