At the Reale Arena this evening, the txuri urdin showed once again their never-say-die spirit. La Real played with ten men from the 17th minute and earned one point, which is very valuable taking into account the circumstances. The realistas gave it their all against Valencia but had to make do with a point.
The match got off to a weird start. Guillamón scored an own goal when he put Illarra's shot into his own net. Shortly after, in an action in which he first touched the ball, Aritz was shown a straight red card after the VAR review. Dubious decision. La Real were reduced to ten men and everything got complicated. Valencia equalized through Lino, who scored from the edge of the area. Real suffered from being reduced to ten men, but little by little, they recovered. Sorloth came close to score with a header that Comert saved under the post.
Imanol's men enjoyed their best chance after the restart. A good combination of Merino and Magunazelaia ended with Sorloth's shot hitting the crossbar. A pity. Shortly after, it was Valencia who came up against the woodwork with a shot by Marcos André. The txuri urdin effort was enormous in the second half, the realistas containing well the attacks of the side from Valencia. In the final minutes, the Valencianistas pushed a little more whereas the side from San Sebastián held firm at the back to get a point that must be positively valued.
Two matches left before the World Cup break. Next up for la Real is a match on Wednesday at the Sánchez Pizjuán. Go Real!
Match sheet:
Real Sociedad: Remiro, Aritz, Zubeldia, Le Normand, Rico, Illarra (cap) (Gorosabel, min.46), Zubimendi, Merino (Guevara, min.82), Brais Méndez (Pacheco, min.46), Carlos Fernández (Magunazelaia, min.46) and Sorloth.
Valencia CF: Mamardashvili, Thierry Correia, Paulista (Cenk, min.29), Comert, Gayá (cap), Guillamón (Nico, min.62), Musah (Foulquier, min.75), Almeida, Kluivert (Castillejo, min.75), Lino and Marcos André (Hugo Duro, min.62).
Goals: 1-0: Guillamón (p.p), min.10. 1-1: Lino, min.25.
Referee: Munuera Montero. Booked Rico and Zubimendi for Real Sociedad. Sent off Aritz Elustondo in the 17th minute.
Attendance: 32,773 spectators.