Endrick enjoyed his best night to date in a Real Madrid shirt, while Jude Bellingham pulled the strings in midfield as Los Blancos cruised to a 1-0 win in the first leg of their Copa del Rey semi-final with Real Sociedad.

La Real threatened early, the dangerous Take Kubo stinging Andriy Lunin’s palms after a well-worked move, before Endrick buried Madrid’s first real chance. Bellingham created it, a left-footed ping sending the young Brazilian through, who burned his man before poking home. Vinicius Jr could have made it 2-0 soon after, but was well-denied from a tight angle.

Madrid never really grabbed control of the contest – but they did threaten in moments, including when Endrick rattled the crossbar with a powerful strike after some neat footwork on the 50-minute mark.

It was a question of game management from there. Bellingham buzzed around midfield, and kept things tidy – while also offering an attacking threat. For the most part, though, the fixture was played in the middle of the park, and Los Blancos seldom truly threatened.

There is still more football to be played in this tie, but Madrid hold what is a fairly narrow aggregate lead, and given La Real’s attacking woes this season, that advantage feels like it might be too tough to overcome at Santiago Bernabeu.