Real Sociedad qualify for the Champions League at Riazor
The txuri-urdin side won 1-2 against Real Sociedad at Riazor to secure qualification for the next edition of the Champions League. Bárbara Latorre, who scored after forty-one seconds, opened the scoring, but Paula Fernández, who was the MVP of the match, and Cecilia Marcos completed the comeback.
03 MAY 2026
With both teams still finding their feet on the pitch, Julia Arrula was not precise in playing the ball out, and Olaya intercepted. The Asturian found Bárbara Latorre, who, just forty-one seconds into the match, unleashed a thunderbolt from outside the box that went straight into the back of the net to score the fastest goal of the Liga F Moeve season. A few minutes later, Julia Arrula was once again imprecise and nearly gifted a goal to Olaya, but the goalkeeper reacted in time to claim the ball. Real Sociedad tried to respond with a header from Nahia Aparicio, which Inês Pereira caught to deny the goal. At the other end, Esperanza Pizarro could have scored the second, but this time, the visiting goalkeeper sent the ball out for a corner with a great save. The Deportivo side also appealed for a penalty, which the referee did not award.
After the half-hour mark, Esperanza Pizarro tried her luck again inside the box, but Julia Arrula remained very alert to collect the ball without any trouble. The equaliser was at the feet of Klára Cahynová, but her shot was gathered by the home goalkeeper. Before the break, Paula Fernández had the chance to level the match, but her effort went narrowly past the post. The final chance of the first half fell to Ainhoa Marín. The winger tried her luck with a strike that nearly surprised the visiting goalkeeper, but the ball went over the bar. After the restart, it took Real Sociedad just one minute to level the match. Emma Ramírez played a low ball into the box, Nerea Eizagirre let the ball run through her legs, and Paula Fernández, with a powerful finish, sent the ball into the back of the net. The visiting midfielder was the MVP of the match at Riazor.
Furthermore, Cecilia Marcos went close to completing the comeback with a header that went wide.Arturo Ruiz's side kept pushing with a delivery from Nerea Eizagirre that failed to find a teammate. For their part, Esperanza Pizarro struck the crossbar with a powerful effort from the edge of the box. In the 71st minute, Emma Ramírez played a pass to the back post, where Cecilia Marcos, completely unmarked, tapped the ball into the back of the net to complete the comeback and make it 1-2 on the scoreboard. After the goal, Intza, Claudia Florentino, and Claire Lavogez entered the pitch, while Marisa and Paula Novo came on for the Deportivo side. In stoppage time, the hosts could have scored, but Iraia Soroa cleared the ball off the goal line to certify the Champions League qualification for the San Sebastián side, who return to Europe's elite competition with three matchdays to spare after a magnificent season.