Real Sociedad 1-0 Rayo Vallecano: Óskarsson's 67th-minute goal is enough

One goal settled an even game at Anoeta. Orri Óskarsson finished from Ander Barrenetxea's pass in the 67th minute, and Real Sociedad made it stand up against a Rayo Vallecano side that had almost as much of the ball as the hosts did.

It was not a one-sided afternoon by the numbers — 50.8% possession to 49.2%, three shots on target apiece — but Real Sociedad found the moment that mattered and Rayo never did.

Line-ups

• Real Sociedad (4-2-3-1): Álex Remiro; Igor Zubeldia, Jon Martín, Aihen Muñoz, Jon Aramburu; Luka Sucic, Carlos Soler; Beñat Turrientes, Orri Óskarsson, Ander Barrenetxea; Takefusa Kubo.
• Rayo Vallecano (4-2-3-1): Emil Audero; Mujaid Sadick, Florian Lejeune, Adrià Pedrosa, Andrei Ratiu; Pedro Díaz, Pathé Ciss; Unai López, Sergio Camello, Giorgi Tsitaishvili; Jorge de Frutos.

A bounce-back after Bilbao

Real Sociedad had taken four wins from their previous five league matches, the only blip a 1-2 defeat away at Athletic Club last time out. This put them straight back on track, with Óskarsson and Barrenetxea combining for the goal that did it.

Rayo arrived with no clear direction of travel — two wins, two draws and a loss in their last five league games — and a 3-0 home defeat to Elche still the low point of that stretch. This was at least a tighter performance than that one, even if it ended the same way: no points.

Where it leaves both sides

Real Sociedad move up to 5th on 22 points, back among the chasing pack behind the division's top four. Rayo Vallecano stay 14th on 12 points, in mid-table but with work still to do to put real distance between themselves and the bottom three.