Hard-earned point against Champions League group leaders | OneFootball

Goalless draw at Real Sociedad

There were no goals but what a great point! A strong Real Sociedad side pushed us all the way in the fifth matchday of the UEFA Champions League group stage, with both teams having chances to win it. With Benfica drawing 3-3 against Inter Milan at the same time, we are to face the Portuguese side on Tuesday 12 December (ticket info) in a decider for third place and a spot in the UEFA Europa League next spring.

Match summary

The hosts clearly made the more comfortable start at their home, the Reale Arena with 36,000 spectators. Imanol Alguacil's boys took over 70% possession in the opening stages, much of which was in and around our penalty area.

When we got the ball, we were looking to do something with it though - and fast! We showed the way forward with a blistering break after 10 minutes, but only the final pass was lacking. It worked better five minutes later when Petar Ratkov sent a beautiful ball behind the defence for Dorgeles Nene to chase onto. The Malian went one-on-one with the goalkeeper and chipped him well, only to send the ball trickling wide (15').

That was our biggest chance of the game by some distance (and would remain so), with the Spanish side having control of the play. Their biggest chance fell in the 34th minute. Benat Turrientes met a ball into the box on the edge of the six-yard box and should have found the net, only for Strahinja Pavlovic to throw himself into the shot!

With the game threatening to ebb away a little before the break, we stepped up a gear and put Real Sociedad under pressure for a few minutes - without any more major chances resulting, and we went into the break with the score still goalless.

The second half started with some unfortunate news. Pavlovic had to stay in the dressing room due to thigh problems. Amar Dedic moved from full-back into the centre of defence, while Leandro Morgalla came on as right-back.

The second half started in similar style to the first: with the hosts dominating possession, but our Red Bulls having a much better idea of how to act and get their challenges in at the right time. It did not seem unrealistic to hope for an opening goal for our boys.

Real Sociedad showed they were in no mood to give up hope of a win either, with Brais Mendez forcing Alex Schlager into a sensational diving stop (61'). Just moments later, our goalkeeper foiled another almost certain goal for the hosts (64'). We were into the final half hour, with Real Sociedad seeing the lion's share of the ball again. Attacking moments for us became few and far between. The introduction of Takefusa Kubo gave the Spaniards added impetus and led to a few openings. A strongly taken free-kick from the Japanese player almost gave Real Sociedad a winner in stoppage time, only for Schlager to again stop it. We battled to the very end, and took a deserved and highly coveted point! The draw sets up a big showdown with Benfica in December. Should we manage to take a point or more against the Portuguese side at home, we will be in the UEFA Europa League in spring 2024. We need the support of each and every one of you for that - tickets can be purchased here:

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Alexander Schlager

Amar Dedic

Line-up

Substitutions

Morgalla for Pavlovic (46'), Konate for Nene (62'), Simic for Ratkov (62'), Forson for Gloukh (78'), Baidoo for Ulmer (84')

Yellow card

Dedic (90+1 'foul)

Injury news

Fernando (adductors), Maurits Kjaergaard (shoulder), Bryan Okoh (thigh), Oumar Solet (thigh), Aleksa Terzic (adductors) and Lukas Wallner (thigh) were out injured, as was Lucas Gourna-Douath (thigh).