Casemiro is suspended after picking up a yellow card although Real Mallorca at home on Wednesday is the kind of fixture Madrid should be able to negotiate, even without Ramos and their only defensive midfielder. Zinedine Zidane will at least hope to have Eden Hazard fresh again after the Belgian was named on the bench. Gareth Bale was also among the substitutes not to be brought on. His replacement Vinicius Junior caused Andoni Gorosabel problems with his pace and it was the Brazilian who won the penalty, after nipping inside the defender before his right foot was caught by Diego Llorente.

Ramos made no mistake but seemed to take a bang on his knee shortly after and despite limping on for several minutes, was eventually replaced by Eder Militao. His removal coincided with a surge from Real Sociedad, who thought they had equalised when Januzaj drove into the corner only for Merino to be ruled offside, seen to be close enough to Courtois to be interfering with the goalkeeper's line of sight. Real Sociedad's sense of frustration was compounded when Benzema made it two. Referee Javier Estrada again consulted VAR but this time allowed the goal to stand, believing Benzema to have controlled with his shoulder before firing in. Merino set up a nervy finish with a thundering shot in off the crossbar but Madrid held on for an important win.