The driving rain in San Sebastian contributed to a number of early mistimed tackles at the Reale Arena. The stop-start nature of the game meant both sides were unable to get a foothold, and neither goalkeeper, Unai Simon or Alex Remiro, were called upon in the first 10 minutes.
Alex Berenguer’s poorly executed free-kick summed up the early action, whilst businesslike performances from Athletic’s Oihan Sancet, Sociedad’s Jon Gorrotxategi and their midfield colleagues stopped anything close to a goalscoring chance from being created.
It took 19 minutes for Simón to make the first save of note, diving full-length to his left to keep out Carlos Soler’s well-placed strike. La Real began to put together some decent passages of play as the half progressed, and from one such move, Mikel Oyarzabal really should’ve hit the target when unmarked and well placed.
As half-time approached the hosts finally got the breakthrough, as Brais Mendez was first to react to a deflected cross before poking home at the second attempt. Incredibly, Athletic soon scrambled home an equaliser with their first effort on target when Gorka Guruzeta fired through a crowd of players.
A stunning start to the second half saw Sociedad on the front foot immediately, with Goncalo Guedes outpacing the visiting defence before firing past Simon.
Athletic’s response was robust without being threatening, prompting Ernesto Valverde to bring on Nico Williams for the final 35 minutes.
La Real thought they’d scored a third after some great work by substitute Take Kubo, but VAR adjudged him to be offside much earlier in the move to the clear disappointment of the home support.
The lifeline spurred Athletic on, and Williams soon fired over after a well-worked move. Aymeric Laporte held his head in his hands with 15 to play, after he connected with a cross when unmarked a few yards out, but could only put the chance wide.
The pressure soon paid off when Remiro could only push Dani Vivian’s looping header onto the bar before Robert Navarro smashed home the loose ball for the equaliser.
A frantic last few minutes saw the action switch from end to end. Sociedad edged ahead again in stoppage time, Gorrotxategi almost taking the net off with a vicious drive from Oyarzabal’s assist.
The win has seen La Real jump up three places in the LaLiga table, whilst Athletic have their lowest points total after 11 games since 2020/21.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Sergio Gomez (Real Sociedad)