La Liga: Gareth Bale takes Real Madrid to table top

Madrid: Gareth Bale’s thunderous header 10 minutes from time moved an under-strength Real Madrid to the top of La Liga with a hard-fought 1-0 win at Real Sociedad on Saturday.

In the absence of the injured Cristiano Ronaldo and Karim Benzema, Bale stood out with a brilliant individual display capped by the winner to register Madrid's 10th straight La Liga win.

Victory moves Real two points clear of defending champions Barcelona and Atletico Madrid. As well as the absent Ronaldo and Benzema, Madrid boss Zinedine Zidane rested Marcelo, Dani Carvajal and Toni Kroos with one eye on the return leg of their Champions League semifinal against Manchester City on Wednesday.