Real Sociedad, after a brilliant first half, has put an end to the positive effect that the arrival of coach Marcelino García Toral to the bench had had on Villarreal, who suffers his first defeat in this new stage at the Castellón club and also his first as a coach in the League against the San Sebastian team.
Imanol Alguacil’s team struck with goals from Merino, Zubimendi and Kubo in the last minutes of the first half against a Villarreal that only woke up and was recognizable in the second half, when everything was lost.
La Real did not let themselves be intimidated by the good dynamics of Marcelino’s Villarreal and came out determined to impose their game from the first minute. The San Sebastian team settled into their rival’s field and began to produce offensive actions on both sides of their attack, forcing Jorgensen to intervene to prevent the goal after shots by Mikel Merino and Sadiq.
Villarreal, forced to play on the counterattack, managed to escape the San Sebastian pressure in a couple of actions, but their attackers lacked the determination to finish the plays. The injury to Brais Méndez, substituted after a blow to the arm caused by Capoue, did not distract Real, who continued to knock on the goal’s door with a long shot from Traoré and a cross shot from Zakharyan.
Marcelino’s team, which missed Parejo’s compass and the individual actions of Alex Baena and Morales, ended up bending the knee in a set piece action. Mikel Merino anticipated the entire defense and the goalkeeper to head Kubo’s serve from the corner into the net.
The goal definitively dismantled Villarreal, who were subjected to total harassment until Zubimendi, with a long shot that bounced off a defender, scored the second, just three minutes after 0-1. Villarreal tried to get back into the game with a double chance from Parejo and Gerard Moreno, saved by a huge Remiro.
The action was decisive for the development of the match, since seconds later, Kubo, after a fantasy assist from Mikel Merino, penalized an error in the home team’s release of the ball with the third goal.
After the break, Villarreal, forced by the score, took a step forward led by Ilias Akhomach against a Real team that decided to take a break. Marcelino’s team, much more recognizable in its game, began to hover around the San Sebastian area, although without putting Remiro in great trouble.
As the minutes passed, the match became unstitched and entered a phase with chances in both goals. Jorgensen saved the fourth after winning a one-on-one with Sadiq and shortly after it was Trouré who cleared a shot into Akhomach’s net. Alex Baena, with a shot to the body of Remiro, and Gerard Moreno, after a lob that went high, were close to getting Villarreal into the game.
Real Sociedad, with its mind set on its next Champions League duel in Milan, relaxed as the minutes passed, giving away defensive options that Villarreal, dazed, did not know how to take advantage of.
Villarreal: Jorgensen; Foyth, Albiol, Cuenca, Altimira (Ilias Akhomach, min. 46); Pedraza, Parejo (Terrats, min. 91), Capoue, Álex Baena, Morales (Sorloth, min. 73) and Gerard Moreno (Brereton Díaz, min. 91).
Real Sociedad: Remiro; Traoré, Elustondo, Zubeldia (Pacheco, min. 58), Tierney; Brais Méndez (Turrientes, min. 29), Zubimendi, Mikel Merino, Zakharyan (Aihen, min. 77), Kubo and Sadiq (Carlos Fernández, min. 77).
Goals: 0-1, min. 37: Mikel Merino. 0-2, min. 40: Zubimendi 0-3, min. 45 3: Cube.
Referee: Melero López (Andalusian Committee). He showed yellow cards to Capoue and Pedraza for Villarreal and to Zubimendi for Real Sociedad.
Incidents: Match corresponding to the sixteenth day of LaLiga EA Sports played at the La Cerámica Stadium in front of 19,344 spectators. The Real Sociedad players took to the field wearing a shirt with the name Aitor Zabaleta and the number 25 on the back in memory of the fan of the San Sebastian team murdered a quarter of a century ago in Madrid.
