In La Liga, the title defense of Real Madrid got off to an amazing start on Sunday as Real Sociedad kept a 0-0 draw at the Reale Arena.
Zinedine Zidane’s men returned belatedly to domestic action after their disappointing Champions League exploits at the end of last season, and had Martin Odegaard in their starting line-up.
The 21-year-old spent the 2019-20 season on loan at Sociedad and was recalled by Madrid after the end of term, but his former side gave as well as they got in terms of real chances.
Veteran David Silva made his Sociedad debut from the bench after he replaced Odegaard recovering from coronavirus, there was no breakthrough before the final whistle.
Madrid had their hosts under pressure from the start but threatened to build on their superiority only late in the first half.
Before the 38th minute, Alex Remiro was scarcely disturbed, but the harrying of Karim Benzema prompted a rushed pass from the goalkeeper straight to Vinicius Junior, who quickly fed Madrid’s number nine. Benzema rounded Remiro and looked likely to score but skewed an effort off-balance across the post.
As Alexander Isak bore down on target in the middle of a rare Sociedad foray, the opposite number of Remiro’s Thibaut Courtois was even more spectacular, his effort turned away from the former Chelsea man’s toe.
Ander Barrenetxea’s cushioned volley bounced agonizingly outside the bottom-right corner, while within two minutes of the restart, Courtois was beaten.
Before Remiro made a meal of Dani Carvajal’s 25-yard blast amid persuasive stops to hold Benzema and Toni Kroos at bay, Ferland Mendy was lucky to avoid a second booking for a rough challenge on Portu.
Including Silva’s arrival for the hosts and Marvin Park’s Madrid debut a series of substitutions on either side-couldn’t prompt the opener.
REAL SOCIEDAD 0 – 0 REAL MADRID
Yellow cards: Muguruza (S); Mendy (M), Carvajal (M)
Real Madrid: Courtois, Carvajal, Varane, Ramos, Mendy, Odegaard/Casemiro 69′, Kroos, Modric/Valverde 70′, Vinicius/Arribas 90+1′, Rodrygo/Marvin 70′, Benzema
Real Sociedad: Remiro, Gorosabel, Elustondo, Llorente, Monreal, Guevara/Gonalez 89′, Lopez, Merino, Portu, Oyarzabal/Januzaj 74′, Isak/Silva 63′
LaLiga results:
Huesca 0 – 2 Cadiz
Betis 2 – 0 Valladolid
Granada 2 – 1 Alaves
Real Sociedad 0 – 0 Real Madrid
