Real Sociedad vs. Real Madrid: Score and Reaction from 2016 La Liga Match

Real Madrid started their 2016-17 La Liga campaign off on the right foot on Sunday, beating Real Sociedad 3-0 at the Estadio de Anoeta.

Gareth Bale opened the scoring inside the first two minutes, and Marco Asensio added a second goal shortly before half-time. The hosts played well, but they simply lacked the quality to create enough chances to trouble Real. Bale added a third goal for good measure in injury time.

As Los Blancos' official Twitter account shared, manager Zinedine Zidane kept Isco and James Rodriguez on the bench, while starlet Asensio and Alvaro Morata got the start. Cristiano Ronaldo was unavailable:

It took the visitors less than two minutes to take the lead. Dani Carvajal fired a first cross into the box, and Bale immediately jumped in front of his marker, powering a header past a helpless Geronimo Rulli.

Per football writer Sid Lowe, the Welshman has made a habit of such goals:

To their credit, the hosts didn't let the early setback influence their play, and La Real soon settled into a nice passing rhythm. David Concha searched for striker Juanmi with a fine cross, but goalkeeper Kiko Casilla came off his line in a hurry and collected the ball.

Meanwhile, AS noted the Basque fans honoured the late Dalian Atkinson in the ninth minute:

Zidane was anything but happy as Sociedad continued to control possession, and an awful backpass from Sergio Ramos gave the hosts their first real chance, forcing Casilla to make a vital clearance.

Morata fired a shot from a tight angle on the counter-attack, and the former Juventus man got an earful from his coach for not pulling the ball back toward the centre. Marcelo did far better, picking out Toni Kroos, who drew a fine save from Rulli with his first-time effort.

Alvaro Barrientos/Associated Press

Juanmi should have done better after a nice pass from David Zurutuza sent him through on goal, but rather than just take a shot, he tried to cut past the returning Ramos and wasted the chance. Sociedad still looked the better side, but they couldn't turn their possession into clear chances.

Asier Illarramendi somehow failed to pull his side level after yet another fine pass from Zurutuza, missing from eight yards out.

Yahoo Sport UK's Andrew Gaffney had only one explanation:

Rulli needed treatment after he clattered into team-mate Mikel Gonzalez in order to deal with a cross, drawing the pace out of the match, and Morata nearly found some space down the centre, with Mikel stepping out at just the right time.

Los Blancos increased the pace again at the end of the half, with Morata testing Rulli once more before Asensio scored a stunning goal to double their lead. The 20-year-old brought down a ball over the top before chipping the goalkeeper, much to the delight of Bleacher Report UK:

The visitors controlled the pace of the match from that point, easily playing out the final minutes before half-time.

Alvaro Barrientos/Associated Press

The second half took some time to get going, with Casemiro running into a yellow card and Bale nearly reaching Mateo Kovacic with a clever cutback.

Morata was furious when Mikel barged into him after 54 minutes inside the box, and instead of earning a penalty, the official booked him for simulation. 

Sociedad did what they could, but Real's defence shut down spaces beautifully in the second half. While it was hardly pleasant to watch, it was a mighty efficient showing from the UEFA Champions League holders, who were more than happy to defend the lead and aim for the counter to add goals.

Alvaro Barrientos/Associated Press

Kovacic came close to adding to the lead, but Rulli made a superb diving save to push his shot out of goal with 20 minutes left to play. Isco replaced Kroos, as Zidane opted to add a bit more speed to his attack, and Morata, who put in a tremendous shift, was taken off for Rodriguez.

Sociedad also made changes, introducing Carlos Vela in the search of a goal. Their pressure persisted, with Mikel Oyarzabal making a solid impression, but Real kept their defence compact.

Casemiro was lucky not to get sent off for a second bookable offence, and Ramos ran into a booking of his own for an incident with Oyarzabal, which saw both teams almost come to blows.

The delays did aid Real's bid to shut up shop, and Bale added a third goal in injury time to put the final score on the board.

Post-Match Reaction

Per Alfonso Herran of AS, Zidane has been impressed with the emergence of Asensio, who will make his team selections even harder:

"

I had to take a decision on him and in the end he started, and he did well. Like Isco and James. Drawing up the team makes my head throb. We have taken three very important points from a very complicated ground. Asensio had a great game, but so did Mateo (Kovacic) and the others. What matters is the collective side of things and we created a lot of chances.

"

Real will play host to Celta Vigo in their next match, while Sociedad will travel to Osasuna.