Villarreal beat Real Sociedad to boost their morale by convincing at a tough venue
A prestigious victory. Marcelino’s team defeated Real Sociedad (1-3) and took the three points from the Reale Arena. The Yellows put in a very serious performance, were compact, did not falter and struck when it was their time to do so. A brace from Comesaña and a late Sorloth strike sentenced a Champions League rival and boosted the confidence of a Submarine side on the rise.
After three consecutive draws against Cádiz, Alavés and Getafe, the Submarine arrived in San Sebastián with the aim of breaking the run and trying to get a prestigious win at the home of a team in the Champions League.
Marcelino’s side took to the field at the Reale Arena with Filip in goal; a backline of Mosquera, Albiol, Bailly and Alberto Moreno; the midfield axis of Coquelin and Santi Comesaña, accompanied by Baena and Ilias on the wings; and with Guedes and Gerard Moreno up front.
The Submarine came into the game intense, solid and compact to frustrate Real Sociedad’s good start, who generated danger with lateral crosses. Real dominated and the Submarine resisted, only to bite back with forcefulness.
The first chance came from Guedes. The Portuguese tried to surprise Remiro with a cross-shot, preceded by an Ilias Akhomach interception in the opposition half. Shortly after, Santi Comesaña scored the first goal from a corner (m. 17). The Galician midfielder took advantage of Raúl Albiol’s assist, who connected with Baena’s cross at the far post and redirected it into the heart of the box for the Yellows No.4 to beat Remiro and put Villarreal ahead.
After the Yellows’ goal, Real Sociedad showed drive and searched for an equaliser, arriving in the vicinity of the box and accumulating a lot of men in the opposition half. Villarreal resisted once again by maintaining order and defending in a low block until half-time.
Right at the start of the second half, the Submarine surprised Real Sociedad again. Santi Comesaña was again the hero, scoring the second goal of the match (m. 47), finishing off a cross from Baena in the heart of the area, who cleverly won the ball in a very dangerous position.
With 0-2 on the scoreboard at the Reale Arena, Marcelino’s team managed their lead wisely. They played intelligently, letting the minutes go by, keeping the ball at the back, being solid and not making any mistakes.
With five minutes to go, Real broke down the yellow wall. They pulled one back through Mikel Merino. The midfielder from Navarre collected a rebound inside the box to beat Jorgensen after a double save by the Danish goalkeeper. At 1-2, the game opened up until Sorloth, on a counter-attack, masterfully finished the game off.
