Real Sociedad were held to a goalless draw by Real Betis in La Liga (LL) despite a dominant performance, as the robust ‘White and Blues’ stretched their run to seven league home games without conceding a goal.
It was all to play for at the Reale Arena, as both sides fought to occupy a UEFA Champions League berth heading into the business end of the season. The ‘White and Blues’, who lost the reverse fixture 4-0 in December 2021, started positively and saw Alexander Isak’s thunderbolt denied by Claudio Bravo early on. Building on their momentum and having seen a Martín Zubimendi goal disallowed, Isak was at it again, and found himself one-on-one with Bravo, but squandered the glorious chance as he jabbed the ball whiskers wide of the post.
Imanol Alguacil would have been delighted, yet slightly frustrated, with his team’s domination in the opening phase of the game, as they failed to make their clear-cut chances count. The ‘Green and Whites’ launched a quick-fire succession of attacks midway through the half that provided Juanmi and William Carvalho with opportunities in front of goal, though they both failed to find the target. Isak continued to cause problems for the Betis backline, and once again faced Bravo in a one-on-one situation, yet this time fired the strike straight at the Chilean international.
Betis wasted little time coming out of the traps in the second half, as Guido Rodríguez hammered a left-footed rebound inches past the post. However, their early rally was short-lived, as Real Sociedad took charge of the game once more by producing some exceptional possession-based football, with the ‘Green and Whites’ struggling to get a hold of the ball. Betis did manage to produce another meaningful chance after the hour-mark, with Sergio Canales firing a threatening free-kick a fraction wide of the target, as the visitors gradually crept their way back into the game.
Real Sociedad continued to push for a winning goal late-on, and Isak’s profligacy continued as he once again failed to find the target, this time with a close-range header that sailed high over the bar, with the all-important breakthrough failing to materialise in the closing minutes. The draw means both teams still have it all to play for, as they remain in the Europa League and Europa Conference League places, respectively.
