Barcelona were handed a further boost in their bid for the LaLiga crown after Real Madrid fell to a 2-0 defeat against Real Sociedad.
A 10-man Real Madrid faltered once again in the LaLiga title race as Takefusa Kubo haunted his former club after scoring in a 2-0 win for Real Sociedad.
Barcelona grabbed a 1-0 victory over Osasuna ahead of Tuesday’s kick-off at the Real Arena, where Madrid offered little without the suspended Vinicius Junior or the rested Karim Benzema.
Kubo – who joined La Real from Los Blancos last July – scored just after half-time, and after Dani Carvajal was booked for two cautions, Ander Barrenetxea sealed victory for the hosts.
Next week’s Champions League semi-final at Manchester City appears to be Madrid’s priority ahead of LaLiga, where they trail leaders Barca by 14 points with five games to play.
Alex Remiro made an expert stop to deny Eder Militao with a sixth-minute header into the top-right corner before La Real settled their nerves.
Martin Zubimendi deflected Alexandre Sorloth’s flick onto the crossbar from point-blank range, while Thibaut Courtois saved David Silva’s great chance with his feet.
Mikel Oyarzabal saw an appeal for Militao’s foul dismissed as the hosts continued to dominate, albeit unrewarded, in the first half.
Yet their superiority was evident immediately after the break when Kubo took Militao’s stray pass back to Courtois to poke into an empty net.
Things got worse for Madrid when Carvajal was sent off for a second needless lunge on Aihen Munoz, before Barrenetxea sealed the deal in the 85th minute when he smashed a low finish into the bottom left corner.
