Real Sociedad equalises away win; Javi Rodríguez rescues Celta

On Thursday, October 22, Real Sociedad and Celta de Vigo secured victories in the Europa League group stage, both away from home. The former defeated Lillestrøm 0‑6 in Norway, while the latter came back to beat Celtic 2‑1 in Glasgow.

Real Sociedad replicates away victory

At Åråsen Stadion, Mikel Oyarzabal was the architect of the win by providing three assists in eight minutes. Two precise passes found Sergio Gómez, who scored in the 25th and 27th minutes, and the third to Luka Sučić to open the scoring 0‑3 in the 32nd minute.

After the break, Orri Óskarsson added the fourth goal, Sučić scored again and Arsen Zakharyan sealed the rout in the 80th minute. Goalkeeper Unai Marrero also stood out by saving a penalty from Thomas Lehne Olsen in the 50th minute.

Celta rescues in Glasgow

At Celtic Park, the visiting side conceded the goal from Mika Baur right at the start of the second half. However, Javi Rodríguez, Celta's centre‑back, equalised with a header after a side foul by Hugo Álvarez in the 68th minute and, three minutes later, sealed the win with a right‑footed strike from the edge of the box.

After the match, Rodríguez admitted: “I still can’t believe I scored two goals.” The defender had scored and assisted against Alavés the previous weekend. Ionut Radu and the defence held onto the lead despite Celtic’s late surge, which now registers three consecutive defeats.

With these results, Real Sociedad move onto four points in the table and Celta three. Both teams return home on Thursday, November 5: Real host Lyon at 18:45 and Celta welcome Union Saint‑Gilloise at 21:00.

The performances demonstrate the ability of Spanish clubs to prevail away in the Europa League, reinforcing their ambitions to progress to the next stage of the competition.