10-Man Real Madrid Embarrassed by Real Sociedad in 3-1 La Liga Defeat

Real Sociedad ensured Real Madrid's indifferent form in La Liga continued by beating Los Blancos 3-1 at Anoeta on Sunday.  

Goals from Mikel Merino, Joseba Zaldua and Ander Barrenetxea condemned the visitors to an 11th league defeat. Real also saw Jesus Vallejo red-carded for handling in the box, but Thibaut Courtois managed to save the resulting penalty from Willian Jose.

Real Rebuild Too Big for Zidane

Somebody should have told Zinedine Zidane this squad isn't what it used to be. More to the point, this group is nowhere near as strong as the one Zidane inherited when the Frenchman was promoted to replace Rafa Benitez in the dugout back in 2016.

Then Zidane could rely on an experienced defence led by Pepe and a still rugged Sergio Ramos. They underpinned the most balanced midfield trio on the continent, in the form of Casemiro, Luka Modric and Toni Kroos.

Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images

This group made sure lethal finisher Cristiano Ronaldo was never short of chances to convert.

Yet the combination of selling Ronaldo to Juventus last summer, along with the deteriorating skills of Ramos and Modric, has created a pressing to-do list in the Spanish capital. It's a list too much for Zidane to handle.

He proved himself adept at fine-tuning a veteran group already tactically on point thanks to instruction of Benitez and predecessor Carlo Ancelotti. Even so, building his own team from the ground up and getting new faces to perform at the highest level seems like too big a challenge for Zidane.

He's already experienced the difference by plumbing new depths with a depleted squad since stepping in for Santiago Solari in March.

Part of Zidane's problem will be knowing where to start.

Does he build a new-look midfield around the artistry of goalscorer Diaz? It would be a risk considering the 19-year-old is still raw having not long been out of the shadow of Manchester City's academy:

Real may have to indulge some of the mistakes of the inexperienced, since Marco Asensio and Isco continue to struggle with seizing the creative burden from 33-year-old Modric.

Zidane will also have to decide if replacing Ronaldo with some star power, most likely Chelsea's Eden Hazard, is the best use of Real's resources when the defence also needs major surgery.

Hazard is seemingly set to leave Stamford Bridge for the Santiago Bernabeu this summer. ESPN FC's Julien Laurens (h/t Lewis Winter of the Sunday Express) believes Real may even be able to sign the classy No. 10 for less than the £100 million fee Chelsea want.

While Hazard is capable of magic, Zidane should be focusing on acquiring players to ease the Belgian's former Chelsea teammate Courtois in the Real goal:

He's getting precious little support from an ageing back four where left-back Marcelo, 31, remains reckless and 33-year-old Ramos is finally starting to slow down. 

Zidane benefited from the awesome reserves of talent he worked with during his first spell in charge, parlaying those talents into three UEFA Champions League wins and one La Liga trophy.

The impressive haul masked the fact this is still a manager relatively inexperienced at the top level. Results this time are telling a different story, one where being a favourite with established players won't be as important as finding credible solutions to growing problems within a team going backwards.

What's Next?

Real host Real Betis on Saturday, 18 May, while Sociedad close out their season at Espanyol the same day.