Page 2 - Real Sociedad 0-0 Real Madrid: 5 talking points as Los Blancos' title defence gets off to a stuttering start

#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.