REAL MADRID DROPPED points for the second La Liga match in succession as they slumped to a shock 2-0 defeat at home to struggling Real Sociedad on Sunday, seeing Lucas Vazquez sent off in the process.
Santiago Solari’s men were looking to make the most of Atletico Madrid and Sevilla drawing earlier in the day but could now end the weekend 10 points adrift of Barcelona.
Madrid were behind early on as Willian Jose converted a third-minute penalty and the home side were unable to pull level before half-time.
Despite Vazquez’s red card for two bookings, Madrid remained well on top after the interval and should have had a penalty when goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli seemed to trip Vinicius Jr, but La Real escaped on that occasion and struck again through Ruben Pardo late on to end a run of four consecutive league defeats.
Madrid found themselves with an uphill as Willian Jose emphatically dispatched his spot-kick following Casemiro’s clumsily foul on Mikel Merino.
The hosts created several chances in response – Karim Benzema just missing the bottom-right corner from close range in the 11th minute, shortly before Rulli denied Vinicius from a tight angle.
Luka Modric then forced Rulli into a smart stop down to his right from distance but they came closest just prior to the break – Vazquez’s chipped cross-slash-shot coming back off the post.
Madrid turned things up a notch after the break, only for Vazquez to collect a second yellow card for a cynical foul on Merino.
Soon afterwards, Vinicius was unlucky to not be given a penalty when he appeared to be fouled by the sprawling Rulli.
La Real took full advantage, hitting Madrid on the break six minutes from the end and Pardo – a second-half introduction – nodded in Willian Jose’s cross to leave Madrid beaten.
- Omni
Subscribe to our new podcast, Heineken Rugby Weekly on The42, here:
He would be a great fit for that role given his experience.
@retsnuM: definitely Munsters biggest failure in the professional era has been the academy which previously suffered greatly from nepotism, club bias etc. Seeing the transformation o shea has done to all levels of Italian rugby has been incredible.. a very smart mind with long term ideas just the guy we need at the top of our game.
@yoloboyz: failure? I would suggest only one team in Ireland has produced more internationals then them.
I think it’s important that whoever gets the role is in the mould of o Shea or Garrett Fitz. They need to have a strong rugby background and need to understand the history and how unique munster rugby is and what it represents. I never expected o Shea to be realistically in the frame for it but it would have been perfect having a munster man like him at the helm.
@Jim Demps: how is Munster unique? A history that before the European Cup was playing test matches every few years and then getting beaten out the gate by Ulster in the poorly attended inter pro. All this Munster is “special” stuff is nonsense..they are a professional rugby club with a bottom line who at the end of the day care as much about their fans as any other professional sports team. Also anyone who actually knows anything will tell you that Garrett Fitzgerald held back Munster and is no well thought of
@Jim Demps: He was born there, but does he really have any affinity or insight with Munster that you’re alluding to? He went to school in Terenure, played for Lansdowne & Leinster before going to England and hasn’t been back since. Would be a great appointment for Munster no doubt, but not in the sense of bringing a Munster identity to the role imo.
@Peter McCarthy: there aren’t too many o sheas from Kerry who aren’t still Kerrymen no matter where they are in the world.
@Wheresmyjumper: if you have to ask then you’ll never understand. I know plenty of people who know an awful lot about Munster rugby and there’s not a bad word to be said about him.
@Jim Demps: Understand what exactly? How Munster rugby didn’t really exist till 1998? Or how people over 40 now consider it the most important thing in their lives but what filled their life before 1998? Your point about Fitzgerald just shows how little you know about the inner workings
@Wheresmyjumper:
Interesting “Jumper” tell us some more:: What were they doing before 1998 ::and you say Ulster thumped them all the time :: What was it that got it started “”the Hin Cup”" 1998 but before it was all about Clubs and Internationals:: very interesting “Jumper” tell us some more ??
@Martin Quinn: no one cared about them, only cared when drunken International teams came over for a midweek jolly.
@Jim Demps: He was born in Limerick, not Kerry. I’m not doubting his pride or affiliation with where he’s from. But he’s never been involved in Munster rugby. It was all Leinster from his teenage years until he left the country, so don’t know how he has a particular insight into what makes Munster tick. Think he’d be a great appointment, just not for the reason you say.
@Peter McCarthy: he would be excellent, he’s a proven administrator and we’d be very lucky to get him. All this Munster by Grace of God is only for potholes (see Jim above)
@Peter McCarthy: not sure where he was born but he’s very much a Kerryman. His dad won a few all Ireland’s with Kerry and like I said, I never met a Kerry o Shea who stopped being a kerryman.
https://www.google.ie/amp/s/www.irishtimes.com/sport/the-body-was-in-dublin-but-the-heart-was-in-kerry-1.1271738%3fmode=amp
@Wheresmyjumper: didn’t that other account stick? The rebel one or is it banned already?
@Jim Demps: expert on rugby and also an amateur detective…you’ve got it all Jim
@Jim Demps: Riiight. If “begorrah he’s a kerryman” is your criteria then good luck to you :)
@Jim Demps: Have you heard about Munster hiring a new skills coach. Guy I know from back in NZ said they’d hired a guy from Manawatu with a good reputation as a 7′s coach called Michael Pettman. Apparently he’ll be working mainly in development pathways.
@Eddie Hekenui: heard they’d hired someone unknown but hadn’t heard a nation never mind a club. I kinda thought it was going to be Greg McWilliam but that was only a guess.
@Jim Demps: Going on what I heard he’ll mainly be working in the underage pathways so they might still bring in another 1st team guy. The guy I heard it from was a schools coach in the region and said he’s brilliant and a top bloke too. Very good skills coach but also built great systems and structures for the schools/clubs to follow. Improved the quality and quantity of coaches/players in the area.
@Eddie Hekenui: https://ie.linkedin.com/in/michael-pettman-9662642b
Certainly seems to be accurate anyway. What an exciting post for the guy, the opportunity to work with Larkham, Rowntree, Logan, Ferreira etc. He must have something serious going for him if he’s gotten that role.
@Jim Demps: There you go that’s the guy. Always forget to check these lads out on Linkedin. Certainly sounds like an interesting hire and fits the mold of a guy who’ll be a real asset as they look to up skill the coaches in the region. A massive difference I found when I moved to Ireland was the drop off in the quality of technical coaching. There were some very good coaches but also some absolute bluffers particularly at underage levels.
@Eddie Hekenui: absolutely no doubt about that, I could name a handful of guys involved in the underage set up who are absolutely robbing a living off the top of my head. Good to see that it’s being targeted. It’ll be interesting to see if they go and hire a skills coach as well. Munster have done some serious work in hiring off the pitch this off season.
@Jim Demps: Haha I can imagine you do if my experience in Dublin is anything to go by. The fact they went all the way to NZ shows they’re seriously committed to long term development. Yeah they’ve done some serious business off the pitch this summer. Hopefully the coaches bed in now and stay for a few years.