MADRID – Real Madrid rallied back to defeat Real Sociedad 4-1 at home on Saturday, increasing their lead at the top of LaLiga to eight points over second-placed Sevilla.
Real dominated the game until a penalty converted by Mikel Oyarzabal after Dani Carvajal tripped David Silva after 10 minutes.
Eduardo Camavinga, a teenager, came to the rescue five minutes before halftime, blasting home a powerful left-footer off the post from 25 metres.
Luka Modric then put the hosts ahead with another long-range strike that sailed into the top corner of Alex Remiro’s goal in front of a practically sold-out Santiago Bernabeu.
Karim Benzema, who had two goals disallowed for offside, finally scored in the 76th minute with a penalty when VAR saw a foul on Vinicius Jr.
Three minutes later, substitute Marco Asensio sealed the victory with a close-range shot.
Los Blancos put their previous problematic performances behind them to put on a display against sixth-placed Real Sociedad ahead of Wednesday’s last-16 Champions League second-leg showdown at home to Paris St-Germain, which Real Madrid trail 1-0.
The Basque side, who led the league in the first quarter before being surpassed by Real Madrid, has 44 points from 27 games and is still in contention for a top-four position.
The LaLiga leaders took advantage of Sevilla’s poor 0-0 draw at lowly Alaves on Friday and increased their lead to 63 points, compared to 55 for their nearest rival.
“This is the intensity we need on Wednesday,” coach Carlo Ancelotti said at a press conference.
“We can recreate our performance against PSG today. It’s a performance that gives us a lot of energy and confidence to come back from the 1-0 deficit in the first leg in Paris.”
Casemiro, the Brazilian midfielder who will miss the PSG game due to suspension, believes that home advantage would be crucial in reaching the quarter-finals.
“Today, we demonstrated that we can fight back and triumph against a formidable foe. We’ll have to do it again on Wednesday, and with our fans cheering us on in our stadium, anything is possible “He stated to reporters.
Source: Reuters