Key Takeaways
- Real Sociedad lost 0-1 at home to Getafe only three days after lifting the Copa del Rey.
- The Txuri-Urdin made 13 shots but scored an own goal, while Getafe did not muster a single shot on target.
- Defeat leaves la Real seven points adrift of fifth-placed Betis in the race for the last Champions League spot.
San Sebastián is still smiling, even if the legs are not. After 120 draining minutes and a penalty shoot-out in Madrid, Real Sociedad landed their fourth Copa del Rey on Saturday night. What followed was a 72-hour carnival: trophy selfies on the runway, an open-top bus through streets packed with more than 100,000 people, and more than “one extra beer” according to coach Pellegrino Matarazzo.
By the time the squad crawled into training at midday on Tuesday, the next match felt like a myth. Yet the fixture computer showed no mercy: Getafe, the side everyone loves to hate, were due at Anoeta on Wednesday.
Matarazzo rang the changes, handing starts to only three final survivors. Early on Brais Méndez smacked a penalty against the woodwork, Orri Oskarsson spooned a sitter and Jon Aramburu struck the post again. Thirteen attempts, zero goals. The only time the ball crossed the line it came off defender Jon Gorrotxategi’s head for an own goal. Getafe, true to their reputation, committed foul after foul, saw little of the ball, and still left with a 1-0 win without registering a shot on target.
The final whistle sparked angry scenes. Home fans branded Getafe “an insult to football”, while Juan Iglesias accused Mikel Oyarzabal of an offensive remark. More importantly, the three points shoved la Real down to eighth, seven behind Real Betis in the probable last Champions League berth.
Still, the hangover does not erase the high. Ten academy graduates, eight of them from tiny Gipuzkoa province, helped deliver the cup. Captain Oyarzabal has now scored in all six finals he has ever played, and back-up keeper Unai Marrero added another shoot-out fairytale. The bus parade may have cost three league points, but in the Basque country the memories will last far longer than the headache.
