Without Kylian Mbappe, Real Madrid Hajar Sociedad and Rebut Kembali Puncak Klasemen
JAKARTA - Real Madrid showed strength by beating Real Sociedad 4-1 in a Spanish LaLiga match at the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium, Sunday, February 15, 2026 WIB. A landslide victory without Kylian Mbappe made Madrid regain the top of the standings.
There was no Mbappe even though he was in the squad for the match. Coach Alvaro Arbeloa rotated the players because they would face a crucial match against Benfica in the Champions League playoff.
Benfica who play at home is definitely not an easy opponent. This is because the elite club of the Portuguese League is handled by Jose Mourinho, the former Madrid coach. Even Benfica managed to roll Madrid 4-2 in the last match of the Champions League qualifying phase. The defeat that forced Madrid to play the playoffs and ironically met Benfica again.
It's just that before dealing with Benfica, Vinicius Junior and his friends warmed up by facing Sociedad. In that match, Mbappe was not played because there was a problem in his knee. Arbeloa did not want to force the France national team captain to play because he could put Vinicius Jr and Gonzalo Garcia in a duet. However, Mbappe is predicted to have recovered when facing Benfica in the midweek match.
In addition to Mbappe, Madrid is still not strengthened by Jude Bellingham who has a thigh injury. Meanwhile, Rodrygo is still recovering from a hamstring injury. Without Bellingham gives the opportunity to the young Turkish midfielder, Arda Guler, to play behind the striker.
Arbeloa can actually still field the best team because the duo of mainstay defenders Dean Huijsen and Trent Alexandar-Arnold have recovered from injuries. The two immediately became the first choice in the heart of the Los Merengues defense.
The best formation of Madrid also made them completely dominate the game and were ahead when the match was only five minutes. Even though the opponent managed to equalize the score, Madrid was unstoppable to get three points.
The victory made the competition for the league title hot and tight again, even though it only left two LaLiga giants, Madrid and Barcelona. Madrid, who were four points behind, finally returned to the top of the standings after collecting 60 points. Madrid managed to be two points ahead of Barca, who will visit Girona's home on Tuesday, February 17, 2026 WIB.
Meanwhile, Sociedad finally suffered their first defeat in the last 10 matches since being managed by Pellegrino Matarazzo. The presence of Matarazzo managed to fix Sociedad. They also have the opportunity to advance to the Copa del Rey final after winning 1-0 over Athletic Bilbao in the first semi-final. Meanwhile, the second semi-final of the Copa del Rey will be held at Sociedad's home.
However, Sociedad failed to stop Madrid's pace and suffered their first defeat. As a result, they are still stuck in the middle of the table in eighth place after collecting 31 points.
In that match, Madrid immediately hit Sociedad's defense with an offensive game. Madrid's efforts immediately bore fruit when Garcia successfully broke the opponent's goal when the match started just a few minutes. Garcia, who replaced Mbappe, greeted Alexander-Arnold's cross which brought Madrid ahead 1-0.
Only after the quick goal, Madrid lost momentum which made Sociedad able to get out of the pressure. Not only that, the visiting team managed to equalize the score from the penalty spot in the 21st minute. The penalty was given after Huijsen made a mistake by bringing down Yangel Herrera in the penalty box.
The referee pointed to the white spot and the execution was completed by Mikel Oyarzabal who defeated goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois. But Sociedad was happy because they managed to change the position to 1-1 only temporarily.
Not long after, it was Madrid's turn to receive a penalty after Vinicius Jr was brought down by defender Jon Aramburu. The referee did not hesitate to point to the white spot and Vinicius Jr himself executed it. The Brazilian national team forward successfully fooled goalkeeper Alex Remiro. This penalty in the 25th minute changed the score to 2-1.
The advantage made Madrid even more excited to press the opponent's defense. In fact, they immediately added a goal six minutes later. This time the captain Federico Valverde fired a curved shot and headed the top corner of the Sociedad goal. The score became 3-1 for Madrid's advantage and lasted until the first half ended.
Entering the second half, Madrid also immediately attacked. The host's offensive attack immediately gave results when Vinicius Jr who penetrated the penalty box for the second time was brought down by Aramburu in the early minutes of the match.
It started with Vinicius Jr's action that made Aramburu angry. There was no other choice for Aramburu but to bring down Vinicius Jr to stop his pace. The referee again gave a penalty and again Vinicius who finished it.
The goal from the penalty spot in the 48th minute changed the score to 4-1. Madrid continued to play offensively even though they were almost sure to win the match. A good opportunity was obtained by Garcia. Only his effort could be blocked by defender Jon Martin.
Sociedad managed to reduce the deficit through striker Orri Oskarsson. However, his goal was ruled out because he was in an offside position.
The same fate was experienced by Vinicius Jr who should have scored a hat-trick when receiving a pass from Guler. Unfortunately he was in an offside position so the goal was annulled. The score 4-1 for Madrid did not change until the end of the match.