There was one loud explosion and then six more followed. Across the city they knew that could mean only one thing: Real Sociedad had won again. A tradition from la Real’s old Atoxa ground, momentarily lost after they left in 1993 but recovered at Anoeta in 2009, a single firework is set off every time the visitors score and two are lit when la Real do. That way, the theory goes, in the boats on the Bay of Biscay they always knew how their team were getting on. And although moving to a ground on the other end of town means news no longer travels so far out to sea, and while one of these days VAR is going to ruin everything, Juan Iturralde still greets every goal by dashing through the gates and down the stairs rockets in hand, ready to tell the world.
This Sunday, he made the run from stadium to forecourt four times in less than an hour, heading out into the rain. A single rocket alerted to Betis’s opening goal, scored by Loren Moron after 12 minutes before two announced the equaliser 10 minutes later, an own goal from Javi García – a moment’s doubt introduced, as always, by the brief gap between bangs. Then came four more, two marking Willian José’s thumping finish to put la Real into the lead on 38 and two more following Cristián Portu’s neat finish to a lovely move on 58. Outside, they might not have been able to see the game, but they knew: after losing at Sevilla and against Getafe, a 3-1 win had taken la Real into a Champions League place ahead of Atlético Madrid and Sevilla on goal difference, just two points behind Madrid and three below Barcelona.
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Granada 1–0 Osasuna; Eibar 0–3 Barcelona; Atlético 1–1 Valencia; Getafe 2–0 Leganés; Mallorca 1–0 Madrid; Alavés 2–0 Celta; Real Sociedad 3–1 Betis; Espanyol 0-1 Villarreal; Athletic 1–1 Valladolid; Sevilla 1–0 Levante.
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