Real Sociedad Edge Espanyol 2-1 in a Game Decided on the Counter

It took just three minutes for Anoeta to have something to celebrate. Ander Barrenetxea finished with his right foot from the center of the box, assisted by Mikel Oyarzabal, and the ball flew into the top corner. That's how a match began that Real Sociedad would go on to win 2-1 over Espanyol in LaLiga, in a game that got complicated before halftime and that they settled midway through the second half.

Espanyol didn't just sit back, though. The equalizer came at the worst possible moment for the home side, right at the end of the first half, in the 44th minute, when a well-executed counterattack ended at the feet of Roberto Fernandez, who finished low, by the post, off a pass from Javi Hernandez. It was 1-1 at the break, with Real Sociedad having created more but unable to take the lead into the locker room.

The counterattack that decided the match

The second half took a while to produce another goal, but when it did, it was Real Sociedad celebrating again. In the 60th minute, another counterattack, this time in the home side's favor, ended with a through ball from Oyarzabal for Orri Oskarsson, who also finished with his right foot, low, by the left post. The 2-1 scoreline held from there, though chances kept coming for both sides: Goncalo Guedes tried his luck several times after coming on as a substitute, and Espanyol pushed forward through Gabriel Moscardo, Cala and Jofre Carreras but couldn't find a second equalizer.

The match also produced its share of yellow cards: Benat Turrientes, Urko Gonzalez de Zarate, Marcos Fernandez, Roger Hinojo, Rafel Bauza and Igor Zubeldia were all booked, a reflection of a physical clash that saw Real Sociedad commit 19 fouls to Espanyol's 14.

Clear dominance in play, less so on the scoreboard

The stats back up what was visible on the field: Real Sociedad controlled possession more and, above all, created far more clear-cut chances.

Ten shots on target versus three is a massive gap, and that shows up too in the xG calculated after the fact from the match's shots: 2.83 for Real Sociedad against 0.96 for Espanyol. That number confirms that, beyond the narrow scoreline, the home side was clearly superior in the volume of chances it created.

The preview we published ahead of the match gave Real Sociedad a 47% chance of winning, a 28% chance of a draw and a 25% chance of an away win, with expected goals of 1.62 for the home side and 1.13 for Espanyol, a combined total of 2.75. The final result, that 2-1 scoreline, landed fairly close to our projection, though the match was left more open than expected after the equalizer arrived in first-half stoppage time.

What the result means in the standings

In the table, neither team arrives in good form: Espanyol sits on 3 points from 3 games played (one win and two losses), while Real Sociedad also has 3 points from its 3 matches, with the same record of one win and two losses, though with a worse goal difference. Both teams remain in the lower half of the table, though the season is only a few matchdays old and there's still plenty left to be decided.

What this match does show is a Real Sociedad side that found the finishing touch at the right moments, built around Oyarzabal as a creative force, and an Espanyol side that proved that even with fewer chances, it can still do damage with the speed of its counterattack.