Alexander Isak Stuns Real Madrid at the Bernabéu - Season Highlights
As Ander Barrenetxea charged down the left flank, Alexander Isak, despite standing at 6'3 and clad in an unmissable green, somehow peeled off Sergio Ramos. With the ball arcing gloriously over the Spaniard's head Isak planted his right foot, extending his long left leg above the hip to volley past a flat-footed Alphonse Areola.
The 20-year-old picked himself off the ground, charging towards the corner flag where his knee-slide was cut short as his teammates engulfed their goalscorer. Substitutes had spilled onto the pitch as the Real Sociedad players struggled to comprehend that they were 2-0 up at the Bernabéu, but it would get even better.
Before a ball had been kicked, this Copa del Rey quarter-final had promised to be an enthralling affair given it was pitting an exciting Real Sociedad side bursting with young talent against the then league leaders Real Madrid. But few could have imagined the seven-goal thriller it produced.
The Real Madrid loanee Martin Odegaard turned in Isak's parried shot to give Sociedad a surprise lead against his parent club after 22 minutes and in the second half things spiralled quickly out of control for Los Blancos.
Within ten minutes of the restart Isak had volleyed Sociedad's second into the side netting. Two minutes later and, after a ricochet, Isak steadied himself, swung his right boot and the next time most people saw the ball clearly it was rustling in Real Madrid's net and the score was 3-0.
Sociedad's coach brought a premature end to Isak's night in the 70th minute but not before his prodigy had whipped in a devilish, low, fizzing cross for Mikel Merino to cancel out Marcelo's consolation effort.
From the bench Isak watched his teammates come within a whisker of squandering the 4-1 lead he had been instrumental in providing as Madrid scored twice in the final ten minutes. Adding a bout of nerves to the euphoria which had overcome Isak for most of the night.
Nevertheless, Sociedad held on and, thanks to the efforts of their Basque rivals Athletic Club against the other half of the clásico duopoly the same day, for the first time in 10 years, neither Barcelona nor Real Madrid made it through to the Copa del Rey semi-finals.
Isak may have been a minor name in comparison to the plethora of internationals in white but Real Madrid had come across Sociedad's 20-year-old sensation in the midst of a rich purple patch. That night Isak scored his seventh and eighth goals in his last six outings and would go on to grab the winner in the Basque derby three days later.
In fact, this win seemed to invigorate the entire Sociedad side as, following the cup triumph, La Real won seven of their remaining eight matches before the season was suspended with the club occupying a Champions League position. Madrid, on the other hand, endured the opposite trajectory.
Prior to the emphatic Copa del Rey exit, Madrid were top of La Liga and boasted the tightest defence in Europe's top five league having conceded just 13 goals in 22 games. Following Isak's brilliance, Madrid shipped six in their last five La Liga games, slipped to second behind Barcelona and lost at home to Manchester City in the Champions League.
Isak's performance that night was symptomatic of his superb season following his paltry £5.8m move from Dortmund in the summer. And given the fact he won't be 21 until the next campaign, Sociedad have the potential to enjoy his talent for many years to come. That is, if they can hold on to him.