Benitez jeered for substituting James Rodriguez early in Real Madrid clash

Rafa Benitez's decision to substitute James Rodriguez after just 58 minutes against Real Sociedad was met with whistles and jeers from Real Madrid supporters on Wednesday afternoon.

The Colombian was replaced by Mateo Kovacic in the 58th minute of the must-win Liga clash and while he was applauded off the pitch, the Santiago Bernabeu fans quickly directed their ire towards Benitez.

Even though the score was tied at 1-1 after Bruma's stunning equaliser had cancelled out Cristiano Ronaldo's first-half penalty, Benitez opted to withdraw his most creative player on the day.

Incredibly, James created six chances during his hour on the pitch, more than the rest of the Madrid team put together (who collectively played just four key passes over the same period).

Fortunately for Benitez, a mere 10 minutes after infuriating the home crowd, Ronaldo stepped up to send an athletic volley into the back of the net to put Madrid back ahead, before Lucas Vazquez wrapped up the points late on.

The incident will, however, have further underlined Benitez's rocky relationship with Madrid supporters, who even whistled and jeered when his name was read out pre-match - despite Real winning their previous match 10-2!

Victory against Sociedad sends Madrid top of the Liga table, though they are unlikely to see in the New Year in that position with Barcelona and Atletico both playing later in the day.