7M - Real Madrid 4-1 Real Sociedad: Vinicius Nets Two Penalties as Madrid Goes Top

Real Madrid surged past Barcelona to temporarily claim the top spot in LaLiga, defeating Real Sociedad 4-1 with Vinicius Junior scoring two penalties.

With Barcelona set to face Girona on Monday, Alvaro Arbeloa's side seized the opportunity to move two points clear at the summit. Despite Kylian Mbappe only being fit enough for the bench, Madrid took the lead in the fifth minute when Trent Alexander-Arnold delivered a sensational cross, finished off by Gonzalo Garcia.

Real Sociedad equalized in the 21st minute through Mikel Oyarzabal, who calmly converted a penalty after Dean Huijsen's foul. However, four minutes later, Vinicius earned and converted a penalty himself, rolling the ball into the bottom corner to restore Madrid's lead.

In the 31st minute, Federico Valverde extended the lead with a trademark long-range strike into the top-right corner, following a simple lay-off by Alvaro Carreras. Despite a massive chance missed by Garcia near the half-time mark, Vinicius secured further comfort for Madrid, winning and converting another penalty just 67 seconds into the second half, once again after a foul by Jon Aramburu.

Several chances fell to Real Sociedad to close the gap, with Jon Martin and Carlos Soler unable to capitalize. Furthermore, Vinicius had a potential hat-trick goal disallowed for offside, but Madrid celebrated their fifth consecutive LaLiga win under Arbeloa.

Data Debrief: Vinicius Shines as Aramburu Falters

This match marked Real Madrid's 13th penalty awarded in LaLiga this season—four more than any other team in Europe's top five leagues, with Bayern Munich having nine in the Bundesliga.

Vinicius became only the second player in history to win and score two or more penalties in a single LaLiga match, following Neymar's feat in October 2015. Aramburu's multiple fouls made him the first player to concede two penalties in a LaLiga match since December 2023.

The penalties significantly impacted the expected goals (xG) stats, as Madrid registered 11 shots with an xG of 3.1, compared to La Real's 13 shots and an xG of 1.67.