Real Madrid have maintained the pressure on the top two in La Liga by defeating Real Sociedad 4-0 at Estadio Anoeta.
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The first opening of the contest fell to Carlos Vela, who connected well with a close-range header, but he was denied by Sergio Ramos, who blocked the effort which was heading towards goal.
The hosts had another opportunity to score the game's opening goal, this time Vela turning provider for Antoine Griezmann, who flicked his teammate's cross towards the far corner, with the effort sailing narrowly over.
Madrid were unable to create any real openings and the first half looked to be edging towards a stalemate, but Asier Illarramendi managed to find a breakthrough, tapping in a rebound after Claudio Bravo had failed to clear Karim Benzema's powerful strike.
Los Blanocs went in search of a second, and they very nearly got it four minutes into the second half when Ramos climbed highest in the area to head the ball, only to see his effort come back off the crossbar.
Benzema was the next Madrid player to be denied by the bar, this time from a 25-yard strike which left Bravo well beaten, but
Gareth Bale made sure of the points on 66 minutes when he hammered home following a poor Bravo clearance to make it 2-0.
Pepe added number three with 85 minutes played when he converted Ramos's knock-down, while there was still time for Carlo Ancelotti's charges to score a fourth, with Alvaro Morata showing the composure to finish when played through on goal by Angel di Maria.
Daniel Lewis
