Real Sociedad 0-1 Real Madrid: Player ratings as Guler fires second-string side to victory

Carlo Ancelotti handed a rest to most of Real Madrid's key starters for the trip to Real Sociedad on Friday but still came out with a 1-0 victory.

In what was far from a vintage display, Arda Guler bagged the game's only goal midway through the first half, firing Madrid one step closer to La Liga glory.

The victory brings a very welcome three points to Ancelotti, whose focus is clearly on Tuesday's Champions League semi-final first leg against Bayern Munich.

How the game unfolded

An early cross from Javi Galan had Kepa Arrizabalaga scrambling early on but the stand-in stopper did get down well to deny Take Kubo, with Madrid under significant pressure in the early stages of the game.

It was one-way traffic for the first 28 minutes, but minute 29 brought an unlikely lead for the visitors.

Dani Carvajal's first-time cross should have been cleared by a scrambling Igor Zubeldia, but the ball was allowed to roll through to Guler, who converted Madrid's first shot on goal to put his side ahead.

Parity was almost restored immediately when Kubo slotted beyond Kepa after Aurelien Tchouameni ceded possession on the edge of his own box, but a VAR check confirmed the Frenchman had actually been fouled and the goal was ruled out.

Benat Turrientes nearly snatched an equaliser inside the opening seconds of the second half, but Kepa once again got down and pushed the effort wide.

Sociedad's spark began to fade around the hour mark, with Madrid happy to sit deep and limit the space available to their hosts, who were still enjoying the majority of the possession at that point.

With 17 minutes to go, Sociedad had the ball in the back of the net once again, but there was no VAR check needed this time as Mikel Oyarzabal had clearly wandered offside before poking the ball into the back of the net.

Oyarzabal thought he'd snatched a valid goal soon after as his delightful dink had Kepa beaten, but Antonio Rudiger's header deflected the effort wide of the post.

Sheraldo Becker's introduction off the bench sparked more life into Sociedad but Madrid kept to their shape and weathered the storm pretty comfortably before the final whistle.

Real Madrid player ratings (4-2-3-1)

GK: Kepa Arrizabalaga - 7/10 - A nervy start but made some smart low saves to stop Sociedad from racking up the goals.

RB: Dani Carvajal - 7/10 - Madrid needed his experience and Carvajal stepped up once again. A really smart assist for Guler's opener.

CB: Eder Militao - 5/10 - Really off his game here, which can likely be put down to rust after so long on the sidelines. Made a handful of mistakes which you'd hope he will eradicate as he gets his rhythm back.

CB: Nacho Fernandez - 6/10 - A few sloppy decisions but largely held his own in a surprisingly busy performance.

LB: Fran Garcia - 7/10 - Clearly heard criticism of his defensive impact and rose to the challenge here. Looked really focused at the back.

DM: Aurelien Tchouameni - 8/10 - A slow start but Tchouameni wrestled control of the midfield battle. Some sensational passes, including for Guler's goal, but focused on starving Sociedad of space to attack.

DM: Luka Modric - 6/10 - Noticeably struggled to get involved in a game which required more defending than anything else but eventually started to find his feet.

RM: Arda Guler - 7/10 - A clear stand-out in Madrid's forward line. Took his goal well and played with some serious confidence as he tried to add to his tally.

AM: Brahim Diaz - 4/10 - Hardly involved in a game which was usually played at the other end of the pitch.

LM: Dani Ceballos - 3/10 - Offered no control in midfield as Sociedad kept coming time and time again. Not the sort of performance needed to force his way back into Ancelotti's thinking.

ST: Joselu - 4/10 - Can't fault the effort, but Joselu was on an island of his own for the vast majority of this game and isn't the kind of striker who can go chasing possession.

Substitutes

SUB: Vinicius Junior (68' for Guler) - 5/10

SUB: Federico Valverde (68' for Ceballos) - 6/10

SUB: Antonio Rudiger (76' for Brahim) - 6/10

SUB: Eduardo Camavinga (76' for Garcia) - 6/10

SUB: Lucas Vazquez (84' for Modric) - N/A

Subs not used: Andriy Lunin (GK), Fran Gonzalez (GK), Jude Bellingham, Toni Kroos

Manager

Carlo Ancelotti - 7/10 - His only goal here was to rest his starters, and he did exactly that. It was by no means an impressive performance but that was not even remotely important to Ancelotti.

Player of the match - Aurelien Tchouameni (Real Madrid)

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