Gareth Bale jeered despite helping Real Madrid to 3-1 win over Sociedad

- Gareth Bale was subjected to some jeering from his own fans on his return to Los Blancos

- A goal each from Benzema, Modric and Federico Valverde saw the hosts emerge victorious

- Real are still joint league leaders with Barcelona as the chase for the title hots up

Real Madrid survived Real Sociedad's scare after coming from a goal down to beat their visitors 3-1 at the Santiago Bernabeu in late La Liga fixture.

Los Blancos conceded just after two minutes of action through a Willian Jose's stunning strike to hand the away team the lead.

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The visitors tried as much as possible to double their lead but all efforts failed to materialise until the home tea gained momentum.

Karim Benzema restored parity for the hosts in the 37th minute after connecting with Luka Modric's assist.

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Barely three minutes into the second half, Federico Valverde handed the Galacticos the lead for the first time in the game in the 48th minute.

And for the second straight time in the game, Croatia captain Modric provided the assist as they hope to finish tops of the table at the end of the season.

Meanwhile, it appeared Modric was not fully satisfied with just assisting goals as the attacker, who was linked with a move to Inter Milan in the summer recorded his name on the sheet.

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The victory, however, ranks coach Zinedine Zidane's men on the same point with the defending champions Barcelona after 13 matches.

The match had a slight sub plot as it was Welshman Gareth Bale's first start in weeks amid a fallout with fans.

Bale was integral for Madrid throughout the match and was pivotal in the build up to the third goal.

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Despite his qualities, the 30-year old was booed by home fans for his antics while on international duty.

Bale, while celebrating triumph with Wales, held up a flag written "Wales, Golf, Real Madrid; in that order"

Real will now shift focus after this weekend to their Champions League cracker against Paris Saint Germain next week.

The La Liga giants are five points shy of the French league giants ahead of their meeting in the midweek.

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In another crucial La Liga clash, Barcelona came from a goal down to beat Leganes 2-1 away from home and maintain their leadership on the log.

Youssef En-Nesyri handed the home team the lead through a stunning strike from a difficult position.

However, two second-half goals from Luis Suarez and Arturo Vidal saw the visitors clinch maximum points after the match.

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