Real Sociedad visited Real Mallorca on the island on Wednesday night, coming away with a comfortable 2-0 victory in the pouring rain.
Mallorca came on strong in the opening stages of the match, threatening to break the resistance of the Txuri-Urdin. Defender Toni Raillo had a decent chance at the back post, but was unable to place his effort on target.
As La Real got into their rhythm, they managed to up the tempo on Mallorca. This bore fruit in the 34th minute as David Silva found a pocket of space on the right-hand side. Laying the ball to Mikel Merino, Silva received the ball back in the box after an excellent reverse pass. Silva made no error in front of goal on his 500th league appearance.
A big push was expected from Mallorca to try and get back into the game, but La Real only increased their stranglehold on the match. From a corner, Merino headed towards goal and had his effort cleared off the line. He was quickest off the mark though and doubled the lead from the loose ball.
Moments later, Merino nearly had his own second after a fantastic effort off the underside of the bar. Undoubtedly, he was the star of the show for La Real in an encouraging performance, given some tough defeats in recent weeks.
Mallorca failed to cause much trouble to Real Sociedad thereafter, as Imanol Alguacil’s side cruised to victory. It moves the Basques into sixth place, two points ahead of Villarreal in the push for a European place.
A disappointed Mallorca stay 16th and five points ahead of the relegation zone, as they seek to keep their head above water.
