Real Sociedad manager Imanol Alguacil has something of a reputation for being calm and collected with the media, and while he did not break that tone on Thursday night, his words were out of character in the irritation they expressed. The Txuri-Urdin lost 2-0 to Roma at the Stadio Olimpico, after which Alguacil questioned his side’s mentality.
La Real and Roma were evenly matched for much of the match, but an early goal conceded to Stephan El Shaarawy, followed by a late second from Marash Kumbulla have made it a very difficult task for Real Sociedad to remain in the Europa League. The return tie is next Thursday in Donostia-San Sebastian.
“Once again, it has been shown that these games are too big for us,” Alguacil fumed.
“We can debate for days about what happened between the two boxes, but if you’re not effective in the boxes, it’s all for nothing,”
Imanol, tras la derrota ante la Roma:
💬 "Una vez más se demuestra que estos partidos nos vienen grandes".
🎥 @RealSociedad pic.twitter.com/htskhxN2wG
— Relevo (@relevo) March 9, 2023
“If you gift away what we did today, then you can concede twice. We almost wrapped it in a ribbon. Once again, we have shown that these games are too big for us.”
The crucial moment was a golden missed chance for Mikel Merino just minutes before Kumbulla headed in Roma’s second.
La Real have been struggling of late, scoring just four times in their last 8 games, picking up just one win in the process. It appears that Alguacil is running out of patience with his side, as they look to continue in Europe, and maintain their top four position.
Image via Juan Manuel Serrano Arce/Getty Images
