Madrid replacements too good for Sociedad and take step closer to La Liga title

SAN SEBASTIAN, Spain (AP) — Real Madrid moved one step closer to a 36th Spanish league title after beating Real Sociedad 1-0 and extending its lead atop of the table to 14 points on Friday.

Carlo Ancelotti’s men need just five points from their last five games to ensure the title will return to the Santiago Bernabeu Stadium.

On a rainy night in San Sebastian, Madrid put out a second-string team to rest Jude Bellingham, Vinicius Junior and other regulars for the visit to the Basque country.

The new faces struggled for large parts of the game, with Sociedad having much of the play and plenty of scoring chances.

But one of Madrid’s new faces proved the difference between the sides.

Arda Güler, the 19-year-old Turkish attacker, made his first start in the league, and when the Sociedad defense failed to clear Dani Carvajal’s low cross, Güler drifted in at the back post to slot the ball home with 29 minutes gone.