Real Madrid moved to the top of La Liga in emphatic fashion on Saturday night, sweeping aside Real Sociedad 4-1 at the Santiago Bernabéu to end the visitors’ long unbeaten run.
Alvaro Arbeloa’s side did the job with pace, control and a ruthless edge, even with Kylian Mbappe starting on the bench after struggling with discomfort in his left knee during the week.
The hosts struck inside five minutes, and Trent Alexander-Arnold was central to it.
The England international delivered a superb cross from the right, and Gonzalo Garcia applied the finishing touch to give Real Madrid the perfect start.
Real Sociedad responded with purpose, and they were rewarded in the 21st minute when Dean Huijsen brought down Yangel Herrera inside the box.
Mikel Oyarzabal made no mistake from the penalty spot, smashing his effort down the middle to level the contest.
However, the visitors’ relief lasted only a matter of minutes.
Jon Aramburu caught Vinicius Junior inside the area, and the Brazilian dusted himself off before calmly converting the resulting penalty to restore Real Madrid’s lead.
The game started to slip away from Sociedad just past the half-hour mark, as Federico Valverde was given too much space on the edge of the box.
The Uruguayan took full advantage, shaping a brilliant strike into the corner to make it 3-1 and put Real Madrid in complete control.
Garcia almost added a second before the interval, only to miss a huge chance from close range after more good work from Valverde.
Any lingering hope of a comeback was extinguished almost immediately after the restart.
Aramburu again brought down Vinicius in the box, and the winger scored his second penalty of the night to make it 4-1.
Real Madrid then managed the game with ease, and Dani Carvajal’s return from injury was another boost as he replaced Alexander-Arnold just after the hour.
The win moves Real Madrid two points clear of Barcelona at the summit ahead of the champions’ trip to Girona on Monday.
It also brought an abrupt end to Sociedad’s impressive run, as Pellegrino Matarazzo’s side were left well beaten by a Madrid team hitting top gear at the right time.