Sturm Graz 0 - 1 Real Sociedad: Isak strikes for silky Sociedad

Real Sociedad extended their unbeaten run to 11 games in all competitions, beating Sturm Graz 1-0 thanks to a howler from goalkeeper Jorg Siebenhandl.

The visitors made a dominant start amidst a hostile atmosphere in southern Austria, as Alexander Isak caused all sorts of problems. He forced Siebenhandl to drop a cross and give David Silva a huge chance to net the opener, but his effort was blocked en route to the back of the net. Isak then had a huge chance to give his side the lead ten minutes in after being played in by Adnan Januzaj, but he struck his effort straight at the goalkeeper.

Imanol Alguacil would’ve been happy with his side’s performance in the first half, but concerned at their lack of end product. Yet, the Spanish side’s best chance of the opening half came on the stroke of HT, as Isak played a glorious ball with the outside of his boot to slot in Silva, but the veteran midfielder uncharacteristically fired over the bar.

They went even closer soon after the restart, as Mikel Merino’s smartly executed header came back off the post. Januzaj was pulling all the strings and created another chance, this time for Aihen Muñoz, but his effort was comfortably tipped over by Siebenhandl.

For all of their defensive resilience, Sturm Graz eventually fell behind in cruel circumstances. Isak found space in the left channel before taking a rather tame shot that Siebenhandl inexplicably let through his legs. To say the least, it was a highly embarrassing moment for the shot-stopper, who had otherwise played well all night.

Jon Gorenc Stanković was dismissed late on to rub salt into the Sturm Graz wounds, and that finally eliminated whatever quaint chance of a comeback still existed. 

After negotiating this test, Sociedad have kept themselves in real contention for qualification to the knockout phase, while the Austrians have suffered three consecutive defeats.