Madrid held by Sociedad ahead of derby against Atlético

MADRID (AP) — Real Madrid missed a chance to move even closer to Spanish league leader Atlético Madrid ahead of their derby next weekend when it drew at home with Real Sociedad 1-1 on Monday.

The draw, halting Madrid’s four-game winning streak in the league, left the club five points from its city rival, which has a game in hand. Madrid has the same points total as second-placed Barcelona but trails on goal difference.

A win would have moved Madrid within three points of Atlético, with a chance to take over the lead on Sunday in the city derby at Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.

“We had our chances but couldn’t capitalize on them and in the end we lost two points at home,” Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane said. “We can’t forget that we were up against a great rival and it played very well.”

Sociedad, which had won three in a row in the league, stayed in fifth place, six points from fourth-placed Sevilla in the final Champions League place.

“We leave with a bad taste in our mouth,” Sociedad forward Cristian Portu said. “We deserved more. Usually an away draw against Real Madrid is a good thing, but not with the way that the game developed.”

Madrid struggled against Sociedad’s well-organized team at Alfredo Di Stéfano Stadium.

Portu opened the scoring for the visitors with a header into the top corner in the 55th minute, taking advantage of some soft defending by Madrid left back Ferland Mendy. Madrid became more exposed defensively after switching from a 4-3-3 formation to 3-5-2 at halftime.

“There was some disconnection after the change to three defenders,” Madrid goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois said. “We were a bit lost and they had more space. In the end, Mendy couldn’t get to the cross in time and they scored a great goal.”

Zidane said he made the tactical change because he wasn’t happy with how the team had been playing.

“It was only for about 10 or 15 minutes and then I changed it back to a 4-3-3 formation and we played better,” he said.

Vinícius Júnior equalized in the 89th with a shot from inside the area.

Madrid forward Mariano Díaz came close by hitting the crossbar earlier in the game, and midfielder Casemiro also wasted a couple of good opportunities with second-half headers that flew wide.

It was Madrid’s first draw at home in the league, adding to three losses.

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