Imanol Alguacil (54), the head coach, expressed disappointment.
Real Sociedad faced Manchester United in the first leg of the UEFA Europa League Round of 16 for the 2024-2025 season at the Estadio Anoeta in San Sebastián, Spain, on the 7th at 2:45 a.m. (Korea time), and the match ended in a 1-1 draw.
Thus, the outcome of the two teams will be decided in the second leg played at Manchester United's home.
Sociedad deployed a 4-3-3 formation. Ander Barrenetxea, Mikel Oyarzabal, and Takefusa Kubo aimed for the goal. Luka Sutic, Benyat Turientes, and Brais Méndez formed the midfield, while Iñigo Muñoz, Nayef Aguerd, Igor Zubeldia, and Aritz Elustondo constituted the back four. The goalkeeper's gloves were donned by Alex Remiro.
Manchester United came out in a 3-4-3 formation. Joshua Zirkzee, Rasmus Hojlund, and Alejandro Garnacho formed the attacking combination, while Patrick Dorgu, Casemiro, Bruno Fernandes, and Diogo Dalot filled the midfield. Noussair Mazraoui, Matthijs de Ligt, and Lenny Yoro made up the back three, and the goal was guarded by André Onana.
In the first half, Manchester United created several scoring opportunities but ended the half scoreless at 0-0 due to the opposing defense and goalkeeper. In the 12th minute of the second half, Manchester United scored the opening goal. Garnacho drew in defenders and passed to Zirkzee, who found the net with a clean shot.
Sociedad was not going to sit back either. In the 23rd minute of the second half, after a video review (VAR), a handball foul by Bruno Fernandes was declared, and Oyarzabal converted the penalty kick to equalize for Sociedad. After that, both teams aimed for several additional goals, but none were scored.
The match ended in a 1-1 draw, and both teams will clash again in the second leg for a spot in the quarterfinals.
After the match, the UEFA Europa League shared an interview with Imanol Alguacil, the Sociedad coach, through its official website. Alguacil opened with, "It was a tight match."
He noted, "Both teams created chances, and after the opponent scored first, we faced difficulties. However, after equalizing following substitutions, we deserved to win." He expressed regret over not achieving a comeback.
He said, "The contest is still alive. There are reasons to be satisfied, but what we wanted was victory. Now we need to focus on recovery and prepare for the La Liga match against Sevilla this weekend. The second leg is still a way off," suggesting that he would focus on the upcoming league match rather than the second leg.
He added, "What we wanted was exactly this – to keep the contest going. I knew this match would be decided in the second leg. Now we need to win away from home, and we have already experienced doing that once," expressing confidence.
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