Valencia vs 20.09.26 19:002 – 3Full Time
Real Sociedad — La Liga: stats, lineups & analysis
Match report
Barrenetxea gives Real Sociedad the final answer at Mestalla
Real Sociedad found the last answer in a match Valencia twice dragged level. Ander Barrenetxea's stoppage-time strike completed a 3-2 away win and stopped Óscar Sánchez's side from building on their midweek win at Alavés, just when Mestalla appeared to have been rewarded for another recovery.
AI-assisted match report written from official match data and the sources linked below.
Carlos Soler's return gave the contest its emotional centre. The former Valencia midfielder put Real Sociedad 2-1 ahead from the penalty spot and immediately raised his hands in apology, but Luken Beitia's own goal restored parity. Barrenetxea then met a short-corner routine with a fierce finish into the top corner, giving Soler the assist and Real Sociedad a third lead that finally held.
Real Sociedad had arrived after a 3-0 league defeat by Atlético Madrid and a 2-1 Europa League loss to Bournemouth; this was a much-needed response. Valencia had repeated the side that won at Alavés, and Aaron Mayol's equaliser offered encouragement for Sánchez's faith in his young players. But a second recovery could not secure a point, leaving the interim coach with a painful setback after his winning start.
Pellegrino Matarazzo later said Otorbi's pace had given Valencia more chances to break forward after half-time. The Real Sociedad coach blamed poor defensive cover when his side lost possession, with Sergio Gómez pushing too high, and said wasteful finishing and misplaced final passes had made the victory harder than it needed to be.
Report sources
Real Sociedad won 3–2 away against Valencia (half-time 0–1).
Valencia met Real Sociedad in the La Liga (Regular Season - 7). Kick-off was Sunday, 20 September 2026, 19:00 UTC at Estadio de Mestalla. Referee: Jose Luis Munuera Montero.
Team pages: Valencia · Real Sociedad · La Liga
Key moments
- 26' Goal: Luka Sučić (assist: Job Ochieng) — 0–1 · Watch Luka Sučić's goal video (26')
- 57' Goal: Aaron Mayol (assist: Hugo Duro) — 1–1 · Watch Aaron Mayol's goal video (57')
- 75' Goal (penalty): Carlos Soler — 1–2 · Watch Carlos Soler's goal video (75')
- 84' Goal (own goal): Luken Beitia — 2–2 · Watch Luken Beitia's goal video (84')
- 90+1' Goal: Barrenetxea (assist: Carlos Soler) — 2–3 · Watch Barrenetxea's goal video (90+1')
- 90+6' Red card: Orri Óskarsson
Starting line-ups
Valencia (4-4-2)
Real Sociedad (4-4-2)
Sirius · Why these numbers
Before kick-off Sirius gave Valencia 41%, the draw 28%, Real Sociedad 31%. It finished Valencia 2–3 Real Sociedad.
Level sides, home ground holds off Real Sociedad's control of the ball — Nothing separates them on our strength rating, and La Liga home advantage gives Valencia the lean. The draw at 28% is what level sides usually produce.
Why Valencia in front?
Home ground, mostly. Almost nothing between them on our strength rating — 1775 to 1803. Sides this close won 43.1% of 16,056 home games (draw 26.7%, visitors 30.2%). La Liga home sides out-perform the global norm — and the difference mostly flows to away wins (28.3% vs 30.2%). La Liga homes won 46.6% of 6,144 games vs 44.9% across all 100,474 — outside the noise band, so the tally moves accordingly.
Why only 41%?
Because on our strength rating there is nothing in it. Real Sociedad hold 5 more possession points (50 to 45 in recent games) — and between equals, control has been worth something. Between evenly-matched sides, when the visitors held this control edge the home team's win rate fell to 40.3% across 5,599 games, from 43.9% when styles were level.
Why the draw at 28%?
Between sides this level the draw starts at 26.7%. These teams' recent games average 2.9 goals — a typical goals environment. Games in that environment drew 24.6% of 25,162. The control factor adds 1.2 points to the draw.
What did we measure but not count?
Valencia come into this after a busy window — 8 arrivals and 13 departures over the summer. Squad turnover reads dramatic but hasn't moved results once the rating is controlled: the busiest windows landed within noise across 5,368 games, rebuilt elevens likewise across 5,446, and even losing the most regular starters showed nothing (5,336). Valencia are 1 game into a new manager (Óscar Sánchez), appointed 5 days ago. The famous new-manager bounce doesn't survive its receipt: sides with a new manager beat their rating by 0.9 points over 33,420 games — but sides on an equally bad run who kept their manager beat it by 2.4 over 31,777. The other measured facts on this page scored nothing either.
Sirius probabilities, frozen at kick-off. Analysis, not betting advice. How Sirius is doing this season · Full breakdown, evidence cards and squad news in the Match Insights tab
About this match
On this page: the Valencia vs Real Sociedad final score and result, goal highlights and video clips of every goal, who scored, starting lineups, match stats and the full match report from this La Liga fixture.
- Who scored and when — a goal-by-goal timeline of the match.
- Match stats — possession, shots, expected goals (xG), corners and cards.
- Starting lineups and player ratings for both teams.
- Head-to-head record and recent form for both sides.
- Watch Luka Sučić's goal against Valencia (26').
- Watch Aaron Mayol's goal against Real Sociedad (57').
- Watch Carlos Soler's goal against Valencia (75').
- Watch Luken Beitia's own goal video (84').
- Watch Barrenetxea's goal against Valencia (90+1').
Watch the goals: goal highlights and video clips of every goal from Valencia 2–3 Real Sociedad. Explore more on the Valencia and Real Sociedad team pages or the La Liga page.
Quick answers
›What was the final score of Valencia vs Real Sociedad?
Real Sociedad won 3–2 away against Valencia (half-time 0–1).
›Who scored in Valencia vs Real Sociedad?
Luka Sučić (26') for Real Sociedad; Aaron Mayol (57') for Valencia; Carlos Soler (75') (penalty) for Real Sociedad; Luken Beitia (84') (own goal) for Valencia; Barrenetxea (90+1') for Real Sociedad.
›Where can I watch Valencia vs Real Sociedad highlights?
Goal highlights and video clips from Valencia 2–3 Real Sociedad are on this page — open the videos tab to watch every goal.
›What is the head-to-head record between Valencia and Real Sociedad?
Valencia and Real Sociedad have met 10 times — 3 wins for Valencia, 3 wins for Real Sociedad and 4 draws.