Xabi Alonso was grateful for his Real Madrid side's sacrifice during their 2-1 win over Real Sociedad.

Los Blancos were forced to dig deep for three points at Estadio Municipal de Anoeta, after defender Dean Huijsen was shown a straight red card in the first half.

Goals from Kylian Mbappe and Arda Guler either side of the sending off were enough to secure all the points for the visitors, even with Mikel Oyarzabal's penalty causing a nervy finish.

Despite the numerical disadvantage, Madrid have won a LaLiga game in which they conceded a penalty and received a red card for the first time since March 2019 against Real Valladolid (4-1).

Although Alonso disagreed with the decision to send Huijsen off, he was delighted to see how his team reacted to the setback.

"For me, it was a yellow card; Mili [Eder Militao] was close, and the ball wasn't under control," the Madrid boss said.

"Watching the replay, I don't change my mind. I asked, he [the referee] gave me his explanation, and I wasn't convinced. I'll leave it at that.

"The context of the game changed, and we played with 10 men for 60 minutes. We had chances and scored the second [goal], to give ourselves a margin.

"The team knew how to sacrifice, they were generous in their effort. Winning at Anoeta is always very difficult, and today, if anything, it was even more difficult."

Madrid have opened the LaLiga season with four straight wins, but Alonso is not getting carried away.

"We keep looking forward," he added. "We're happy, but we can't take anything for granted. There's room for improvement. We have to keep building.

"The results are good, but today, the appreciation of playing with one less player for so long, that people have been generous in their sacrifice, is great."