Second-placed Real Madrid lost 2-0 to Real Sociedad in LaLiga on Tuesday after being reduced to 10 men when defender Dani Carvajal was sent off early in the second half. The victory gives Barcelona the potential to capture their 27th LaLiga title with a win over local rivals Espanyol on May 14.
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Real Madrid lost the Real Sociedad encouter
In a significant development, star striker and club captain Karim Benzema has not been included in the squad for the encounter. Ancelotti presumably keeping him out in preparation for the Copa del Rey final against CA Osasuna. Meanwhile, Luka Modric and Ferland Mendy are out due to injury. While Eduardo Camavinga and Vinicius Jr are both out owing to one-match suspensions for card accumulation. David Alaba, who returned to training on Monday, has also been ruled out of contention. Young players like Nico Paz, Luis Lopez, Sergio Arribas, and Carlos Dotor have been called up. Also Alvaro Rodriguez has returned to the first team after recovering from an injury.
After a 1-0 victory over Osasuna earlier in the day, Barcelona increased their advantage over Real Madrid to 14 points after winning two of their past three league games. Real Madrid can only achieve 83 points if they win all five of their remaining games. They dropped to third position after their local rivals Atletico Madrid won their home encounter against lowly Cadiz on Wednesday. They were also missing Vinicius Junior, who was suspended. Hence, Los Blancos never looked menacing as Sociedad took control early in the game.
Kubo scored on an empty net following a poor attempted pass from visiting defender Eder Militao to his goalie Thibaut Courtois. Following Carvajal’s dismissal for a second yellow card on the hour, the hosts doubled their lead in the 84th minute. The 21-year-old forward Ander Barrenetxea, who ghosted past the defence and scored from a David Silva pass between Courtois and the near post.
Los Blancos eye to win two upcoming ‘big games’
Despite their problems in LaLiga, Madrid still has two trophies on offer that might help them conclude the season on a high note. It starts with Saturday’s Copa del Rey final against Osasuna. Madrid is also in the Champions League semifinals. They will meet Manchester City over two legs commencing May 9 in a hope to defend their 2021-22 crown.
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