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An 89th-minute Vinicius Jr equaliser earned Zinedine Zidane’s Real Madrid a 1-1 draw with Real Sociedad on Monday night, leaving them five points behind La Liga leaders Atletico Madrid ahead of the weekend’s derby.

Los Blancos had more of the ball and dominated the goalscoring opportunities in the first period, racking up 12 attempts before half-time. The closest they got to breaking the deadlock was after 22 minutes, when a clipped Lucas Vazquez cross could only be headed onto the bar by Mariano, before Marco Asensio’s effort on the rebound was blocked on the line by Robin Le Normand.

An attacking tweak in Real Madrid’s formation at the interval afforded their visitor’s much more space and time on the ball and, on 55 minutes, they made the most of it. A breakaway move led to Nacho Monreal crossing fantastically for Portu to head into the top corner via the underside of the bar.

Zidane’s men controlled the game from then and pressed for an equaliser throughout the second half, eventually getting their reward in the 89th minute when substitute Vinicius Jr lashed home from another quality cross from Vazquez. That last-gasp effort earned Los Blancos a draw which keeps them in third place, level on points with Barcelona.

Now, let’s get to the Real Madrid player ratings…

Thibaut Courtois (GK) – 6/10 – Looked a little shaky with his handling at times, but made a couple of saves and couldn’t do anything about Portu’s header for the La Reales’ goal.

Lucas Vazquez (RB) – 8/10 – Got up the right flank brilliantly and delivered real quality into the box, racking up four key passes, including the assist for the late equaliser.

Raphael Varane (CB) – 7/10 – Used his pace to mark La Liga’s in-form striker Aleksander Isak out of the game, not giving him a sniff of goal throughout as he made three ball recoveries and four clearances.

Nacho (CB) – 7/10 – Covered well for Ferland Mendy when he was caught upfield and managed the pace of Portu well, making three tackles and some key clearances in his own penalty area.

Ferland Mendy (LB) – 6/10 – As usual found himself in advanced positions and was his side’s main threat from the left but couldn’t quite manage an end product. Let his side down as he was beaten at the back post by Portu for the goal.

Casemiro (DM) – 6/10 – Provided a good screen in front of the back four with three ball recoveries, but strangely couldn’t replicate his usual form in front of goal, not achieving a single attempt on target from seven efforts.

Luka Modric (CM) – 6/10 – Found little pockets of space to good effect and had a couple of decent efforts on goal, but generally couldn’t quite stamp his authority on the match, and was hooked off as he looked leggy.

Toni Kroos (CM) – 7/10 – Found himself on the ball constantly and was able to dictate play for Los Blancos, maintaining an 89% pass accuracy and playing two key balls.

Marco Asensio (RW) – 6/10 – Showed absolute class with some excellent touches and was very unlucky not to have scored in the first half as Le Normand cleared his effort. Looked capable of changing the course of the game but was taken off on the hour.

Mariano (ST) – 4/10 – Had one real opportunity with which he hit the bar but was left isolated throughout, making just 12 touches before coming off.

Isco (LW) – 7/10 – Drifted inside throughout and was able to produce some lovely touches to create opportunities for teammates, making four key passes.

Rodrygo (RW) – 6/10 – Looked a threat after coming on, getting on the ball regularly and driving at his opposition while making one key pass.

Vinicius Jr (LW) – 8/10 – Finished excellently late on to grab the equaliser and rescue the point for his side on his 100th appearance for Los Blancos.

Hugo Duro (ST) – 5/10

Federico Valverde (CM) – 6/10

It may have only been against Sheffield United – lowly, goalshy, soon to be relegated Sheffield United – but Liverpool will still have been extremely relieved to have picked up a routine 2-0 win on Sunday evening.

Going into their trip to Bramall Lane, the Reds were at the lowest point of the Jurgen Klopp era. With their squad ravaged by injuries, they had lost each of their last four Premier League games. This run of form left them a gut-wrenching 22 points off leaders Manchester City and some way off West Ham in fourth.

During this same period, they had conceded ten goals and prior to the game were also without a clean sheet since they drew 0-0 with Manchester United well over a month ago. Even against a side as hopelessly toothless going forward as Sheffield United – the Premier League’s lowest scorers by some margin – the chances of Liverpool ending this run without a shutout seemed slim before kick off.

Due to the tragic death of his father, Alisson was replaced in goal by the error-prone Adrian, while inexperienced pair Nat Phillips and Ozan Kabak started at centre back. Despite these mitigating factors, Roy Keane was not in a sympathetic mood while previewing the game for Sky Sports.

Addressing claims that the Reds’ makeshift backline might be cut some slack, he said: “We’ve spent the last six months talking about Liverpool’s problems. They’re signed with Liverpool Football Club, if they can’t deal with playing Sheffield United away, they should retire.”

Harsh, but fair.

Fortunately, Phillips and Kabak showed they don’t want to hang up their boots just yet, steering their side to just their seventh Premier League clean sheet of the season.

The pair certainly did not possess a telepathic understanding throughout – the Turkey international even inadvertently put one into his own net in the first half, only for the offside flag to save his ignominy – but there were plenty of bright signs in the duo’s performance.

Phillips may have limitations on the ball but even against the physical Oli McBurnie he competed superbly, winning seven aerial duels and also throwing himself in front of several shots.

He is a proper old school English centre back and while he may not be good enough to start for the Reds at full strength, he continues to show that he has more than enough to contribute beyond this strange campaign.

The same could be said for Kabak. In contrast to his partner, there are glimpses that his ceiling is high but he is far from the finished product. At Bramall Lane he was occasionally clumsy on the ball but at other times he looked like the real deal, completing an impressive amount of long switches.

He was also assertive when he needed to be. While Kabak continues to adjust to both the shell-shock he suffered playing in that Schalke team, and Liverpool’s new system with minimal preparation time, he still managed to complete a game high three tackles, as well as a team high four clearances.

Together, Kabak and Phillips provided their side with an impressively stubborn last line of defence. The clean sheet, much like the win, was much needed, and could potentially provide the momentum Liverpool require to get their truly mad season back under control.