Real Sociedad have maintained their 100% record in the Europa League following a narrow victory over Omonia Nicosia.
The Basque side put Omonia under pressure for much of the first half but rather than an intricate move cutting through the Cypriot defence, it was a rocket from Ander Guevara that broke the deadlock.
That's one for the highlight reel… 🤩
Ander Guevara has broken the deadlock for Real Sociedad with this rocket!! 🚀#UEL pic.twitter.com/0sMBoY20Wt
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) September 15, 2022
ANDER GUEVARA. WHAT A STRIKE. 💥 pic.twitter.com/3XxzdkyPn5
— CBS Sports Golazo ⚽️ (@CBSSportsGolazo) September 15, 2022
Following the season-ending injury to Sadiq Umar, Imanol Alguacil handed starting berths to Mohamed-Ali Cho and young forward Jon Karrikaburu.
In the second half the Txuri-Urdin improved with the introduction of Alexander Sorloth and Takefusa Kubo, who were a constant thorn in Omonia’s side. However as time ticked on, Neil Lennon’s side upped the tempo in search of an equaliser and following a mix up between goalkeeper Alex Remiro and Aritz Elustondo, Bruno Felipe equalised with less than 20 minutes to go.
Now with the pressure on to get a winner, La Real came forward again. It took eight minutes for the pair of Kubo and Sorloth to link up for the winner, the former driving at the defence and finding the Norwegian alone in front of goal, where he made no mistake.
Perhaps a trickier evening than expected for La Real, ultimately they go into a double-header with Sheriff Tiraspol knowing two wins will qualify them. Manchester United beat the Transnistrians 2-0. La Real will be hoping they can pip them to the top of the group, knowing that a draw in Donostia-San Sebastian would go a long way to securing that.
