Real Sociedadvs
DeportivoReal Sociedad built a commanding three-goal lead, then spent the final twenty minutes trying not to give it all back. They managed — just — but the 3-2 final flatters Deportivo and will give the home side plenty to think about heading into the week.
For the first hour, this looked like a controlled home performance. Real Sociedad were the deeper side — 39.9% possession, content to let Deportivo have the ball — and they punished the visitors on the counter with a ruthlessness that the stats don't fully capture.
The First Half Belonged to the Home Side
Jon Martín opened the scoring in the 29th minute, getting on the end of a Carlos Soler delivery to head home. Five minutes later, Arsen Zakharyan doubled the lead with a finish that needed no assist — the kind of goal that lifts a crowd and deflates a visiting bench. By halftime it was 2-0, and Deportivo's 60% possession had produced nothing of note.
Gonçalo Guedes made it three just after the hour, converting an Ander Barrenetxea pass in the 54th minute. At that point, en qué clavo se encontraba Deportivo — down three with the match apparently dead.
Then Everything Changed
Pablo Marín was sent off for Real Sociedad in the 66th minute, and the dynamic flipped immediately. A man down, the hosts suddenly had to defend the width of the pitch against a Deportivo side that had been knocking on the door for ninety minutes without reward.
Mario Soriano Carreno pulled one back in the 61st minute — set up by Riki Rodríguez — and then Yeremay Hernández converted a penalty in the 69th to make it 3-2. Deportivo had 21 shots on the night and seven on target; Real Sociedad's goalkeeper made six saves. The last twenty minutes were uncomfortable.
The red card for Lorenzo Amatucci in the 90th minute took some of the heat off — both sides finished with ten men — and Yangel Herrera picked up a yellow in stoppage time as tempers frayed. The final whistle, when it came, was a relief for the home support.
Verdict
Our pre-match read made Real Sociedad the favorite at 54%, and that held — but only in the strictest sense of the scoreline. A team that leads 3-0 and nearly surrenders it will not feel good about the performance, even with three points. The red card changed everything, and Real Sociedad will feel they made life harder than necessary in those final stages.
Deportivo, for their part, showed enough fight to suggest they're not a side that quits. Cabal, two goals in nine minutes against ten men is something — but they'll know they needed the red card to give them that opening, and that won't always come. The 33,644 at Reale Arena got more than they bargained for.
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