Real Sociedad 0-0 Real Madrid: 5 talking points as Los Blancos' title defence gets off to a stuttering start | La Liga 2020-21

The 2020/21 season has officially kicked off for La Liga defending champions Real Madrid, and they began with a goalless draw against Real Sociedad at the Reale Arena.

The game was a tense fixture that had many well-fought individual battles throughout the pitch, and neither team could prevail at the end of 90 minutes, having to walk away with a point each.

Both teams pressed quite well and managed to keep each other at bay while keeping the game flowing from end to end. The teams were neat in possession but there were not too many clear cut chances for either side to make the most of. Karim Benzema came closest for the visitors in the first half while David Silva's shot was heroically blocked by Raphael Varane to keep the scores level.

Here are the talking points from the La Liga fixture between Real Madrid and Real Sociedad:

#1 Injuries and Intensity

Real Madrid's group stage fixture vs PSG could've been a decisive night in Hazard's career.

When the squads for both teams were announced before the game, many fans were quite baffled to see the sheer number of big names missing on both ends, as both Zinedine Zidane and Imanol Alguacil had to contend with a (comparetively) light squad.

Real Madrid saw Eden Hazard stay out while nursing another injury in his right foot, the same one he injured against PSG back in the Champions League group stage after being the victim of a rather rash challenge from international teammate Thomas Meunier. Isco, Eder Militao, Asensio, Lucas Vasquez and Mariano also missed out on the fixture.

For Real Sociedad, Assier Illaramendi, Alex Sola and Luca Sangalli were among a list of 9 players who were unavailable for selection.

The coronavirus pandemic has taken a huge toll on footballers as the number of games they have to play for club and country to make up for lost time will be immense.

Almost every team will be playing 3 games a week for quite a while before things slow down for the mid-season break. However, that will see international teams calling up the players to play friendlies before the Euros take place in 2021.

#2 Real Madrid's squad post trim

Bale has now finally left Real Madrid after a long, drawn-out saga that lasted for what seemed like forever

Zinedine Zidane made quite a few decisions this summer regarding several heavyweights, with players like Gareth Bale, James Rodriguez and Achraf Hakimi, Sergio Reguilon now having departed the club.

Gareth Bale, who's been loaned to Tottenham Hotspur for the season, is arguably the biggest name of the bunch. His relationship with the club had grown quite toxic, and the final straw for the club was when he asked to be left out of the squad to face Manchester City last season.

Sergio Reguilon has also left for Spurs, albeit with a buy-back option that the club can exercise throughout his stay in London. Economically, Real Madrid have made good moves overall, with James Rodriguez being offloaded to Everton, relieving the club of his massive wages while giving him room to show his truly magnificent talent.

With Achraf Hakimi also joining Inter Milan, Zidane now has a squad that he wants. However, will we see Real Madrid really take off this season? Only time will tell.

#3 The influx of youth

Real Madrid players Vinicius and Rodrygo were good but failed to make an impact on the scoreline

Ever since the 2016 Euros, football clubs have been heavily relying on players in their early 20s in crunch situations.

There was no shortage of the same tonight as both clubs gave minutes to several young players, with Zidane starting Vinicius and Rodrygo up ahead of Martin Odegaard. The Frenchman also handed Sergio Arribas and Marvin, two wingers from Castilla's Youth Champions League-winning squad, their senior debuts.

Meanwhile, Alguacil started the game with 18-year-old winger Ander Barrenetxea against last year's debutant Aihen Munoz at left wing and last year's hero for Sociedad, Aleksander Isak up top. He also handed out a debut to academy graduate Urko Gonzales, who came on for the final 3 minutes of the game.

#4 David Silva's second LaLiga debut!

David Silva almost scored against Real Madrid on Sunday

David Silva is arguably one of the greatest midfielders of his generation, having conquered almost every title with Manchester City, with only the Champions League eluding him during his decade-long stay with the club.

Having him move to Spain is a great coup not just for Real Sociedad but also for the league as a whole. He almost had a debut for the history books as he wiggled into space soon after coming on and seemed to be certain to score a goal but Raphael Varane was alert to the threat and thwarted his effort before it came to fruition.

El Mago has decided to prolong his career while trying to take a fight against the giants of Spain with one of the best young squads in the league. Once he truly settles at the club in a few games' time, we can expect some absolutely jaw-dropping sequences from him.

#5 Rustiness may persist due to lack of pre-season for Real Madrid

Real Madrid only played one friendly fixture before this game, a closed-off fixture against Getafe which they won 6-0.

Real Madrid were quite sharp at the back and were quick to cut out almost every move before it became a threat. Thibaut Courtois has hit another gear since he was subbed off at half time against Brugge last year and seems to want to take it up a notch this year .

There was a great deal of football played in a very short span of time after the lockdown. With the smallest-ever break between seasons and no pre-season to train and get their rhythm back, Real Madrid seemed to struggle to find any fluency in their attacks.

The coming fixtures can be telling as Real Madrid need to find their rhythm in training quickly if they are to defend their LaLiga crown this season.