An early own goal from Inigo Martinez was enough to condemn Real Sociedad to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Manchester United.
Jagoba Arrasate threw caution to the wind naming an ultra-attacking line-up for the match at Old Trafford. Haris Seferovic, Carlos Vela and Antoine Griezmann were all named as part of a front-three – Ruben Pardo however, missed out.
La Real may have gone all-out for the win, but their task was made more difficult after just two minutes as Wayne Rooney’s effort hit the post, rebounded off Inigo Martinez, and went into the back of his own net.
The Premier League side were clearly the superior outfit early on, bossing possession and creating several goalscoring opportunities. Rooney forced Carlos Bravo into a save after 15 minutes and Antonio Valencia was causing problems down the right-hand side.
The Erreala were enjoying just 35 per cent of the ball, but eventually did call David De Gea into action as Seferovic struck from distance – the former Atletico Madrid goalkeeper however, was more than equal to the effort.
Phil Jones and Rooney again went close towards the end of the half with Griezmann also hitting the post from a free kick, but United had to be content to go into the break just the one goal ahead.
After the interval, the Anoeta side seemed to settle their nerves, and instantly called the United defence into action. David Zurutuza and Alberto De La Bella both had efforts on goal, but neither of them could get the better of De Gea.
Despite that promising start however, normal service was resumed soon after, as David Moyes’ men continued to boss the game.
Shinji Kagawa almost grabbed a second but couldn’t hit the target, and Rooney forced Bravo into a smart stop late on, but they just couldn’t double their lead.
As it was, that early own goal was enough for the English side as Real Sociedad failed to win again in the group stages.
Manchester United 1-0 Real Sociedad
Scorers: Inigo Martinez OG 2 (RS)
Man Utd: De Gea; Rafael (Smalling 59), Jones, Evans, Evra (c); Carrick, Giggs; Valencia, Rooney, Kagawa; Hernández (Young 80)
Real Sociedad: Bravo, C.Martínez, Mikel, Iñigo, De la Bella; M.Bergara, Zurutuza (Castro 75), X.Prieto (c) (Pardo 69); Vela, Seferovic (Agirretxe 75), Griezmann.
