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Real Sociedad are still not assured of their place in the Europa League last 16, as they were in a damaging 3-1 defeat to Lazio at the Stadio Olimpico.
Imanol Alguacil named his strongest lineup for the match in Rome, but it was a terrible start for Real, who fell behind in the first five minutes. Taty Castellano passed the ball to former Real Madrid defender Mario Gila after a set piece, and the Spaniard returned the shot to Alex Remiro and it went into the back of the net.
Things would get even worse for Real later in the first half, when Javi López received a second yellow card for a clumsy foul. To make matters worse, Lazio would score twice in quick succession just moments later. First, Mattia Zaccagni scored after an assist from Gustav Isaksen, before Castellanos, on loan at Girona during the 2022-23 season, found the back of the net to add his first assist.
At that point, it was damage limitation for Imanol and Real. Brais Méndez, Mikel Oyarzabal, Martín Zubimendi and Takefusa Kubo were substituted before the start of the second half, with a view to being fresh for Sunday’s match against Getafe. However, they lost key defender Nayef Aguerd when he appeared to take a knock, so he had to be substituted.
Impressively, that stopped the rot as Lazio were unable to find another goal, and La Real even managed to find the back of the net when substitute Ander Barrenetxea scored from close range after Jon Aramburu was denied from a tight angle.
The result means that Real Sociedad, who have already lost two games in a row after last weekend’s defeat in Valencia, must beat PAOK at home next Thursday if they are to secure a place in the Europa play-off round League.
