Real Sociedad beat PSV Eindhoven to give Spain 4 teams in last 32 of Europa League

MADRID: DEC. 10 – Real Sociedad assured their place in the knockout stage of the Europa League in convincing style on Thursday night thanks to a 3-0 win at home to PSV Eindhoven.

Spain international striker Mikel Oyarzabal was the hero for the club from San Sebastian with the first two goals of the night while Norwegian Alexander Sorloth rounded off the victory with a third goal in injury time.

The first goal came from the penalty spot, just two minutes before the end of a relatively even first half after Phillipp Mwene was penalized for handball, allowing Oyarzabal to calmly put his side into the lead.

It was a vital goal for the Basque side, who needed to win in order to overtake their rivals and move into second place in the group, and it also meant that PSV had to open their lines in the second half as they searched for an equalizer.

Oyarzabal sealed his side’s place in the knockout stage of the competition with a left-foot shot from the center of the area after a pass from Martin Zubimendi and Sorloth put the icing on the cake for the home side with a powerful left-foot shot into the top corner of the net.

The result means Spain will have four teams in the last-32 of the competition as Betis had already booked their place ahead of Thursday’s visit to play Glasgow Celtic, while Sevilla and FC Barcelona also go into the hat for the next round after finishing in third place in their respective Champions League groups.

-Agency