January 04, (THEWILL) — A 1-1 draw at Estadio Municipal de Anoeta late on Sunday denied Diego Simeone’s Atletico Madrid the opportunity to move into third position in the LaLiga standings.
Real Sociedad held the visitors after a second-half comeback cancelled out Alexander Sorloth’s opener, extending the away team’s struggles on the road.
Julian Alvarez wasted two early opportunities for Atletico, first sending a volley over the bar from a corner in the sixth minute before dragging a shot wide following Alex Baena’s pass.
Jan Oblak was forced into action to deny Brais Mendez and Carlos Soler before the interval, keeping the scores level at half-time.
Giuliano Simeone delivered a dangerous cross five minutes into the second half, which Sorloth headed home at the far post to give the visitors the lead.
Conor Gallagher squandered a golden chance to double the advantage two minutes later, shooting wide when one-on-one with Alex Remiro.
That miss proved decisive when Mendez spearheaded a rapid counter-attack three minutes later, with Goncalo Guedes finishing emphatically into the top corner from Takefusa Kubo’s cross.
Kubo later tested Oblak with a tame effort from distance after another defensive lapse by the Madrid side.
Antoine Griezmann nearly grabbed a late winner seven minutes from time, but his attempted chip was comfortably saved by Remiro.
The result marked a disappointing start to 2026 for Simeone’s men, who had won their previous two fixtures before entering the new year.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
