Real Madrid 2-0 Real Sociedad: Match review | OneFootball

The final league fixture of the season culminated with a comfortable victory for Real Madrid, but that was overshadowed by the emotional farewells of Luka Modric, Lucas Vazquez, and Carlo Ancelotti.

The Italian manager and his son, Davide Ancelotti, were teary-eyed before the match began, as a video showcasing his best moments at the club was shown.

Ancelotti began the game with a front three of Guler, Mbappe, and Brahim Díaz, and Modric started in the midfield for his final match at the Santiago Bernabeu.

Real Madrid’s domination was on display initially, and Sociedad’s lack of intensity on the attacking front was visible.

Arda Guler earned a penalty in the 37th minute. Mbappe initially had his shot saved but scored on the rebound, with that becoming his 30th goal in the league campaign.

The French striker became the first player since Lionel Messi in 2020/21 to score 30 or more goals in a La Liga campaign.

The first half ended with Los Blancos having as many as 10 shots on goal and an expected goal ratio of 2.19, compared to Sociedad’s 0.65.

Arda Guler had shown his class yet again and almost had an assist to his name in the 63rd minute after he threaded a pass to Mbappe, but the striker had his shot saved.

Just a few minutes later, Lucas Vazquez stepped off the Bernabeu pitch for one final time, as the fans gave him a deserved send-off for being a loyal servant of the club.

Real Sociedad lacked the intensity in attack, and that showed as they were unable to create a single big chance in the 2nd half and just had 4 shots at goal.

Kylian Mbappe continued his fabulous goal-scoring form and netted his 31st goal of the season, securing the Pichichi – a day later also won the European Golden Boot, ahead of Mo Salah and Victor Gyokeres.

The moment finally arrived for which several former Real Madrid players were in the stands, and even the injured bunch were also present – Luka Modric taking his final steps off the field as he was substituted for Chema in the 87th minute.

Real Madrid legend Luka Modric is substituted in the 87th minute. [Photo by Denis Doyle/Getty Images]

The Croatian received a rousing reception and was also met with a hug from his former teammate and midfield partner Toni Kroos. If the moment wasn’t already quite emotional, that hug surely broke some fans as they now had seen perhaps one of the great midfield duos leaving their club in two consecutive seasons.

Following a guard of honor to Modric, even though this moment had taken up a good chunk of time, the referee added just a solitary minute as the Merengues ended up as the deserving victors.

Florentino Perez also couldn’t hold his tears in once Carlo Ancelotti ended his speech after everyone in the stadium was told to stay back for the farewell.

With Modric leaving, Dani Carvajal remains the only person from the famous three-peat squad to be at the club, and with the Spaniard already considering retirement, Madrid fans should be prepared for something similar next season.

Real Madrid now prepares for a new era under Xabi Alonso, with the first assignment being the Club World Cup. Winning it would be a fitting ending for Modric and Vazquez’s time at Madrid.

Even though this game was of no significance since the league was already done and dusted, the Bernabeu filled up, and millions around the world watched three important figures of the side leave at the same time. In the Croatian legend’s words in his final speech: